In recent years, autonomous driving has become an increasingly practical technology. With state-of-the-art computer and sensor engineering, autonomous vehicles may be produced and widely used for travel and logistics in the near future. They have great potential to reduce traffic accidents, improve transportation efficiency, and release people from driving tasks while commuting. Researchers have built autonomous vehicles that can drive on public roads and handle normal surrounding traffic and obstacles. However, in situations like lane changing and merging, the autonomous vehicle faces the challenge of performing smooth interaction with human-driven vehicles. To do this, autonomous vehicle intelligence still needs to be improved so that it can better understand and react to other human drivers on the road. In this thesis, we argue for the importance of implementing ”socially cooperative driving”, which is an integral part of everyday human driving, in autonomous vehicles. An intention-integrated Prediction- and Cost function-Based algorithm (iPCB) framework is proposed to enable an autonomous vehicles to perform cooperative social behaviors. We also propose a behavioral planning framework to enable the socially cooperative behaviors with the iPCB algorithm. The new architecture is implemented in an autonomous vehicle and can coordinate the existing Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Centering interface to perform socially cooperative behaviors. The algorithm has been tested in over 500 entrance ramp and lane change scenarios on public roads in multiple cities in the US and over 10; 000 in simulated case and statistical testing. Results show that the proposed algorithm and framework for autonomous vehicle improves the performance of autonomous lane change and entrance ramp handling. Compared with rule-based algorithms that were previously developed on an autonomous vehicle for these scenarios, over 95% of potentially unsafe situations are avoided.

Many recent experimental studies have shown that some subjects destroy other subjects' incomes without receiving any material benefit, and that they even incur costs to do so. In this paper, we study the boundary conditions of this phenomenon, which is referred to as anti-social behavior. We introduce a four-player destruction game, in which we vary the framing and the presence of another activity, running in parallel to the destruction game. We observe a substantial amount of destruction in the baseline condition without the parallel activity, and with a framing in the spirit of previous destruction experiments. Our results indicate that a parallel activity as well as a framing emphasizing joint ownership of the item that can be destroyed reduces destruction almost to zero. We therefore argue that the emergence of anti-social behavior is highly contingent on the contextual environment. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

The purpose of this study is to attempt to discover any observable differences in social behavior between elementary school pupils who have attended nursery school and those who have had no nursery school experience.

Increasing human populations have resulted in the extensive conversion of natural forests and range lands into agricultural lands, resulting in an expansion of the interface between people and elephants across the elephant range countries of Asia and Africa. This interface describes the nature of two-way interactions between people and elephants, which can be positive and reverential or hostile and negative. Elephant crop-raiding, one of the most negative interactions for people at the interface, is not only the result of decreased food resources and space, but has also been attributed to a preference for cultivated crops and to damage caused during elephant movements between habitats. The aim of this thesis was an attempt to understand the use of coffee agroforestry areas by elephant populations in a South Indian district, Kodagu, and to assess the risks to elephants and people of coffee plantations. Geographically, located at a significant position in the Western Ghats, Kodagu district is a part of one of the largest wild Asian elephant ranges harbouring India’s largest elephant population. Kodagu has a unique topography and coffee agroforestry system in considered as the boon for conservation. This thesis is the first long term (one year) study on the elephant populations using coffee estates in Kodagu. Crop-raiding events across Kodagu and their intensity of occurrence were determined from the Forest Department compensation records. Virjapet taluk was one of the three administrative units of Kodagu with frequent incidences of crop-raiding, including elephant mortality and human deaths. High rates of crop-damage in Virajpet included both coffee and paddy rice produce as the land is conducive for the cultivation of both. To understand the use of coffee estates by elephants, coffee estates in Virjapet were directly and indirectly monitored for the presence of elephants using dung sampling (N=202), camera trapping, video and photo documentation, as well as sightings (N=408) and reports by local workers, in order to identify the individuals or groups of elephants frequenting these coffee estates. Lone male and all male groups used coffee estates most frequently and family herds ranging in group size from 2 to 10 were present mainly during the peak season of coffee ripening (post monsoon). Presence of large numbers of elephants, especially with large female groups, was associated with crop-damage during the months of December-January. As seasonal movements of elephants in Kodagu districts are still not known, it is unclear why the number of elephants in coffee estates post-monsoon increases when food availability should also be higher in forests. These large coffee estates were used as refuge areas by elephants during the day by all individuals and groups, and feeding on estates occurred during the night to early morning hours. Dung analysis and observations suggested that coffee estates were attractive for elephants due to the constant availability of water (for irrigation), green fodder, and cultivated fruit trees, especially jackfruit. Coffee plants were damaged both due to consumption (47% of dung samples in this study) and accidental damage during elephant movements within the estates. Although the dung sampling could not confirm whether coffee had become a novel food resource, the presence of large number of elephants during the coffee ripening season suggested that the potential for coffee berries to be added regularly to the diet in the future, with potential consequences for coffee invasion of native forests through dung seed dispersal. People working on large coffee estates were accustomed to the presence of elephants and were generally knowledgeable of the areas that elephants frequented, thus avoiding fatal encounters. However, safety of farmers and other people working on the estates remains a major concern, especially for large coffee estates owners. The constant interaction between elephants and people also led to more negative perceptions of elephants, and reduced the tolerance of elephants in the area. The unique topography of Kodagu as a mosaic of forests and farms challenges the number of possible mitigation methods to prevent negative encounters between people and elephant. The elephants of Kodagu may have adapted behaviourally to the presence of people, but long-term monitoring of the elephant population is important to understand their ecological and social adaptations to the various costs and benefits of using this agroforestry landscape. Suggestions for management of the elephant-human interface and mitigation of negative attitudes and actions were made, through a model that incorporates a multiple stakeholder (including elephants) action plan.

Ette étude s’inscrit dans le champ des recherches sur le développement sociocognitif des enfants déficients intellectuels porteurs d’une trisomie 21 (T21). Elle porte sur les liens entre les représentations d’attachement et, respectivement, le comportement social avec les pairs et l’attribution d’intentions dans les situations de provocation ambigües. Trente sujets porteurs d’une T21 âgés de 8 à 12 ans, 30 sujets contrôles au développement typique de même niveau de raisonnement (CR) et 36 de même âge chronologique (CA) ont participé à l’étude. Les représentations d’attachement ont été évaluées avec l’ASCT (Bretherthon et al., 1990), le comportement social avec le TASB (Cassidy et Asher, 1992) et l’attribution d’intentions avec une tâche expérimentale que nous avons élaborée. Les résultats ont montré des liens entre représentations d’attachement et comportement social ainsi qu’entre représentations d’attachement et attribution d’intentions chez les sujets T21 et CA mais pas chez les sujets CR. Ces résultats soulignent l’importance de la qualité de l’attachement pour le développement sociocognitif des sujets T21. Des spécificités développementales ont été observées chez les sujets T21, elles pourraient reposer sur un format de représentations implicite, impliquant une rigidité représentationnelle : plus les sujets seraient insécures plus ils intégreraient un modèle relationnel négatif s’exprimant via des automatismes procéduraux, entraînant une conduite moins prosociale avec les pairs et renforçant le biais d’attribution d’intentions hostiles qu’ils présentent dans les situations de provocation ambigües. Des implications cliniques sont discutées. / This study focuses on socio-cognitive development of children with intellectual disability due to Down Syndrome (DS). Links between attachment representations and, respectively, social behavior with peers and attributions of intentions in ambiguous social conflict situations were examined. Thirty children with DS aged 8 to 12, 30 controls matched on level of reasoning (CR) and 36 controls matched on chronological age (CA) participated in the study. Attachment representations were assessed with the Attachment Story Completion Task (Bretherthon et al., 1990), social behavior with the Teacher Assessment of Social Behavior (Cassidy et Asher, 1992) and attributions of intentions with a new experimental task we developed. Attachment representations were associated with both social behavior and attributions of intentions among DS and CA, but not among CR. These findings emphasize the importance of attachment quality for sociocognitive development of children with DS. Children with DS showed developmental specificities which are believed to lie on an implicit and inflexible representational format of information: the more insecure they are the more likely they are to internalize a negative model of relationships via procedural learning, possibly leading to lower levels of prosocial behavior and more hostile attributional biases in ambiguous social situations. Clinical implications are discussed.

Persistent, anthropogenic contaminants collectively known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are considered to be potential threats to wildlife reproductive fitness (Wingfield, 2002). The modes by which EDCs act on the reproductive system, and establishment of steroid profiles in wildlife, are important areas of study. Two means of performing an endocrine snapshot profile from dolphin tissues (serum and urine) were tested on samples, comparing a novel high performance liquid chromatography method to newly-validated enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs). Serum and urine samples were obtained from two marine parks, and from free-ranging dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and Charleston Harbor (CHS) systems. Relative binding affinities of steroids versus putative EDCs to steroid receptors were compared in dolphin reproductive tissues, obtained by the Georgia Aquarium's Dolphin Conservation Field Station (GADCFS) from strained bottlenose dolphins (four male, three female) during 2010 and 20ll.........I conclude that endocrine disruptors are tissue and receptor specific, and both legacy and emerging contaminants are of concern to dolphin stocks, particularly those facing other significant environmental stressors. / by Sharon M. Homer-Drummond. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Esta tese é um estudo analítico da semântica do termo sustentabilidade e dos processos sociais de significação dos seus conteúdos constitutivos com o objetivo de desenvolver um sistema de referência que o estruture como um conceito organizador e regulador das ordens de conservação e das dinâmicas de transformação do mundo contemporâneo. A hipótese é que existe uma vacuidade conceitual no uso estratégico do termo de modo que suas projeções semânticas não são suficientes para estruturá-lo como um conceito de organização e transformação social. Assim, seu sentido estruturante se encontraria na necessidade lógica de explicar as ordens de conservação do mundo frente à questão socioambiental. Sob o enfoque desta tese, o termo sustentabilidade se constituiria no interior da atividade psicológica imanente ao sujeito histórico que busca interpretar seu mundo e explicar suas ordens de permanência e transformação. A tese parte da premissa de que a sustentabilidade se estrutura como conceito regulador do pensamento socioambiental contemporâneo, constituindo-se em necessidades de inovação técnocientífica, conservação material e simbólica do mundo vivido e mudança dos panoramas naturais e sociais contemporaneamente experienciados. O método da pesquisa envolve três ordens de derivação do significado do termo sustentabilidade que assumem, subsequentemente, a função de dimensões de análise e são consideradas como forças semânticas reguladoras de categorias analíticas de natureza sintática. O corpus empírico da análise consiste em uma coleção de textos publicados por estudiosos e pensadores especializados na temática em questão, tendo como descritor-síntese a expressão \"teorias socioambientais\". Desta forma, busca-se verificar se, da derivação semântica, pode emergir um sistema de referência de análise capaz de estruturar projeções significativas da estrutura semântica do termo sustentabilidade e do seu emprego estratégico. Interpretam-se as respectivas dimensões analíticas, descritas como pré-lógica, antropológica e geopolítica, como inter-relacionando-se por uma regulação endógena interna à estrutura semântica do termo sustentabilidade e não por interferência ou por redução de uma dimensão a outra. Tais dimensões encerram possibilidades semânticas intracombinatórias de ordem congruente, incongruente e paradoxal. Quanto à ordem congruente, nos referirmos às ordens de conservação do mundo; à ordem incongruente, nos referimos às dinâmicas de transformação que abalam a ordem de conservação do mundo material e simbólico; e à ordem paradoxal, apontamos para interesses que travam os meios de solução das antinomias e dos paradoxos sociais, criando processos com formas convenientes de relação entre as dinâmicas de transformação do mundo e suas ordens de conservação. Consideramos que o método proposto permitiu a identificação de formas emergentes de forças semânticas que emanam das teorias socioambientais, cuja estruturação assume a função de regular as operações de relação das dimensões de significação do termo sustentabilidade. Concluímos, à luz da análise desenvolvida, que as informações científicas que fundamentam o emprego do termo sustentabilidade ainda não são capazes de atingir o conduto da vida social, mediante dispositivos de socialização disparados por seu uso estratégico, pois se estruturam sobre uma incompletude conceitual que não abrange a amplitude e complexidade dos processos sociais reguladores que deveriam influenciar / This thesis is an analytical study of the semantic of the sustainability term and of the social processes of signification of their constituent content with the goal of developing one reference system able of structure it as an organizing and regulator concept of the conservation orders and the dynamics of transformation of the contemporary world. The hypothesis is that there is a conceptual vacuity in the strategic use of the term so that their semantics projections are not yet sufficient to structure it as a concept of organization and social transformation. Thus its structural would be upon the logic necessity of explain the conservation orders face the socio environmental issue. Under the focus of this thesis, the sustainability term would constitute itself as a psychological activity immanent to historical subjects that seek to interpret their world and explain their orders of permanence and transformation. The thesis begins from the premise that sustainability is structured as a regulator concept of the contemporary socio environmental thinking, constituting itself in necessities of technoscientific innovation, conservation of material and symbolic world and changing of the natural and social panoramas contemporaneously experienced. The method involves three derivation orders of the semantic structure of the sustainability term, assuming, subsequently, the function of analytical dimensions of syntactic nature. The corpus of the empirical analysis consists of a texts collection published by scholars and thinkers, with the descriptor-synthesis \"environmental theories.\" Thus we seek to verify if from that semantic derivation can emerge one reference system capable of structuring the semantics projections of the sustainability term and of its strategic use. We interpreted the respective analytical dimensions, described as pre-logic, anthropological and geopolitical, as interrelating itself by an endogenous regulating and not by interference or by reducing of one dimension to another. These dimensions contain intra-combinatorial semantics possibilities of congruent order, incongruous and paradoxical order. Regarding the congruent order, we refer to order of conservation of the world; on the incongruous order, we refer to the dynamics of transformation that disrupt the conservation order of the material and symbolic world, and on paradoxical order, we point to concerns that prevent the means of solution of the social processes contradictories, creating convenient forms of relationship between the dynamics of transformation of the world and its conservation orders. We consider that the proposed method allowed the identification of semantics forces that emanate from socio environmental theories, assuming the function of regulating the operations between the dimensions of meaning of the sustainability term. We conclude, at light of the analysis developed, that the scientific information underlying the use of the sustainability term is not yet able to reach the conduit of the social life, through socialization devices triggered by its strategic use, because it is structured on a incompleteness conceptual that does not encompass the breadth and complexity of the regulators social processes which should influence

A socioecologia estuda a diversidade dos sistemas sociais a partir dos princípios da ecologia comportamental. Roedores são bons modelos para o estudo dos sistemas sociais por apresentarem elevada variação no comportamento social, a qual pode ser uma adaptação selecionada no passado evolutivo e/ou uma resposta adaptativa ao contexto ecológico atual. Estudar preás para investigar a flexibilidade da organização social é relevante porque, apesar de explorarem vários ambientes diferentes, esses animais podem apresentar certa rigidez comportamental. Nesse contexto, a hipótese que avaliamos é a de que a organização social dos preás Cavia magna, um herbívoro pouco estudado, encontrado do Norte do Uruguai ao Sul do Brasil, depende de determinantes ecológicos atuais, sendo uma resposta adaptativa. A hipótese alternativa é a de que a organização social é uma resposta adaptada, limitada por características selecionadas no passado. Para isso, (1) caracterizamos suas interações sociais; (2) avaliamos as distâncias interindividuais durante o forrageamento, (3) analisamos o padrão de agregação dos indivíduos e (4) comparamos seus comportamentos e organização social com os dados disponíveis de uma população da espécie ocorrente no Uruguai e com os dados de Cavia intermedia, uma espécie endêmica das Ilhas Moleques do Sul, em Santa Catarina que apresenta adaptações ao habitat insular. Os preás foram observados em uma área urbana costeira, dentro do campus do Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC), em Florianópolis. Esse local apresenta isolamento da população em área pequena e com pouco risco de predação, isto é, uma área semelhante ao habitat insular. Observamos os preás na estação fria-seca e quente-úmida, por 60 dias. Concluímos que a população de C. magna do IFSC é social, pois encontramos grandes tamanhos médios de agregação, elevados Índices de Associação entre os indivíduos, e associações preferenciais em três grupos com conformação típica de harém. Constatamos que são poligínicos, porque o acesso às fêmeas diferiu entre os machos, e estes apresentaram mais comportamentos agonísticos que as fêmeas. A presença de hierarquia de dominância e ausência de comportamento territorialista dos machos indicaram que a poliginia foi sem defesa. Apesar de termos encontrado um sistema social semelhante ao de C. intermedia, não encontramos características típicas de síndrome insular. Dessa forma, corroboramos a hipótese de que a organização social dos preás é uma resposta adaptativa / Socioecology studies social systems applying the behavioral ecology principles. Studying rodents social systems represents a valuable opportunity once this group shows high variations on social behavior, which may be an adaptation selected in evolutionary past and/or an adaptative feedback to the ecological context. Investigate the social organization flexibility by studying cavies is relevant because of its relative behavioral rigidity, despite their occupation of different environments. In this context, we intend to evaluate our hypothesis on the Cavia magna, cavie social organization: it depends on current ecological factors, being an adaptive answer. C. magna is an herbivore found on northern Uruguay and south of Brazil. The alternative hypothesis is that the social organization is an adaptive answer, limited by reaction rules selected on the past. The cavies was observed in a coast urban area, inside of the Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC), in continental Florianópolis, Brazil. The population is isolated in a small area with low predatory risk, being similar to an insulated habitat. We collected data on social interaction, interindividual distances during foraging, grouping pattern and sexual ratio. This data was compared to the available data of Cavia intermedia, from the Moleques do Sul archipelago, specie that was probably derived from C. magna and presents adaptations to the insular habitat. Cavies were observed for 60 days in cold-dry and hot-wet season. We have concluded that the studied C. magna population is social, given that we have found relatively large mean groups size, high Association Indexes between individuals, and preferred associations in three clusters with typical harem structure. We have also found that the population is polygynous, because the access to females differed between male individuals, and the males performed significantly more agonistic behaviors than females. The existence of a dominance hierarchy and the absence of male territorial behavior pointed to polygyny without defense. Even though the studied social system is similar to the one observed on C. intermedia, we did not encounter typical insular syndrome features on C. magna. Accordingly, we have supported the hypothesis that the cavies social organization is an adaptive answer

Os primatas exibem uma grande diversidade de sistemas sociais e a socioecologia propõe uma abordagem para o estudo da evolução dessa diversidade, através da análise das relações entre comportamento social, ecologia e dinâmica de populações. Primatas do gênero Cebus exibem vasta distribuição geográfica e grande flexibilidade alimentar e comportamental e, portanto, são modelos ideais para o teste das previsões dos modelos. Além disso, algumas populações exibem o uso espontâneo de ferramentas para processar alimentos. Embora seja reconhecido que o uso de ferramentas pode alterar as características de recursos alimentares, o impacto dessa técnica nunca foi incorporado às previsões dos modelos socioecológicos. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram (1) estudar as relações sociais de fêmeas de uma população selvagem de Cebus libidinosus, que utiliza ferramentas, em área de ecótono Cerrado/Caatinga, à luz dos modelos socioecológicos, investigando se o uso de ferramentas afeta o padrão das relações estabelecidas entre elas, e (2) estudar o orçamento de atividades, a dieta e o uso de substratos, avaliando se fatores ecológicos afetam o tempo de atividades e a dieta desses animais. Esta pesquisa foi realizada na Fazenda Boa Vista (BV), localizada no município de Gilbués, ao Sul do estado do Piauí. Foram estudados dois grupos de macacos (ZA e CH), entre maio de 2006 e abril de 2008. Os resultados mostram que a oferta de alimento na BV não sofreu variação ao longo desta pesquisa, assim como o orçamento de atividades dos animais. Frutos e invertebrados foram os principais alimentos consumidos pelos macacos, enquanto recursos obtidos com ferramentas foram pouco representativos na dieta. Diferenças sexuais no padrão de atividades e dieta sugerem que as fêmeas possuem uma demanda energética maior e/ou que são forrageadoras menos eficientes do que os machos, enquanto as diferenças entre faixas etárias indicam que os juvenis são forrageadores menos eficientes do que os adultos. Frutos, que são recursos de alta qualidade nutricional, discretamente distribuídos no ambiente e usurpáveis, foram o principal alimento das fêmeas, e o tamanho das fontes alimentares discretas variou entre intermediário e grande. O sistema social da população de estudo correspondeu ao padrão Residente-Nepotista-Tolerante (filopatria de fêmeas, formação de hierarquia de dominância linear e estável, relações de catação e coalizão entre fêmeas), corroborando a previsão dos modelos para primatas que se alimentam de recursos de alto valor energético, com distribuição discreta e usurpáveis, e que estão submetidas a forte competição direta intra e entre grupos por alimento. O padrão de atividades, a dieta, o uso de substratos e a estrutura social de C. libidinosus da BV foram semelhantes ao padrão encontrado para algumas populações de Cebus que não utilizam ferramentas, indicando que o uso desses artefatos não alterou significativamente o tempo de atividades e a dieta dos animais da BV, nem os regimes competitivos e a dinâmica das relações entre fêmeas. Contudo, é possível que o impacto do uso de ferramentas sobre esses aspectos comportamentais seja mais evidente em populações que dependam prioritariamente de alimentos extraídos com ferramentas / Primates exhibit a wide diversity of social systems. Socioecology proposes an approach for studying the evolution of this diversity, by analyzing the relationship between social behavior, ecology and population dynamics. Primates of the genus Cebus exhibit a wide geographic distribution and a related diet and behavioral flexibility, thus are ideal for testing predictions from the socioecological model. In addition, some populations exhibit the spontaneous use of tools for processing food. Although it is recognized that the use of tools may change the characteristics of food resources, the impact of this technique was never incorporated into the predictions of socioecological models. Our aims were (1) to study the social relationships of females of a wild tool using population of Cebus libidinosus, in an area of ecotone Cerrado/Caatinga, in the light of socioecological models, investigating whether the use of tools affects the pattern of females social relationships, and (2) to study the activity budget, diet and substrate use, assessing whether ecological factors affect these behavioural patterns of the animals. This research was conducted at Fazenda Boa Vista (BV), located in the municipality of Gilbués, south of Piauí state. We studied two groups of monkeys (ZA and CH), between May 2006 and April 2008. The results show that the amount of available food did not change in BV during the research period, as well as the activity budget of the animals. Fruits and invertebrates were the main foods eaten by the monkeys, while foods obtained with the aid of tools represented a small proportion of their diet. Sex differences in diet and activity patterns suggest that females have a higher energy demand and/or are less efficient foragers than males, while the differences between age groups indicate that juveniles are less efficient foragers than adults. Fruits, which are a high quality, patchily distributed and usurpable food resource, were the main food for females, and the size of patchy food sources ranged from intermediate to large. The social system of the study population corresponded to the standard Resident-nepotistictolerant (philopatry of females, linear dominance hierarchy and stable relations of grooming and coalition between females), supporting the models predictions for primates that feed on high quality, patchily distributed and usurpable food resources, and are subject to strong direct competition within and between groups for food. The pattern of activities, diet, substrate use and the social structure of C. libidinosus at BV were similar to the pattern found in some populations of Cebus that do not use tools, indicating that the use of these artifacts did not significantly alter the activity period and the diet of animals in the BV or the competitive regimes and the dynamics of relations between females. However, it is possible that the impact of using tools on behavioral aspects is most evident in populations that depend primarily on foods extracted with the aid of tools

Responder mantido por relação acidental com reforço, comportamento supersticioso, pode ser facilitado por variáveis sociais como a modelação. O presente estudo investigou o comportamento supersticioso em um procedimento com ou sem substituição de participantes. No procedimento com substituição, um participante trabalhava em uma tarefa no computador enquanto outro o observava. Quando terminava a tarefa, o participante observador passava a realizar a tarefa e outro participante era chamado para observá-lo. A tarefa básica envolveu a programação de um esquema múltiplo com componentes de VT e EXT. Os participantes podiam emitir respostas, por meio da manipulação de um mouse, em um retângulo colorido apresentado na tela do computador. Dois grupos de oito participantes foram constituídos para avaliar a transmissão do padrão desenvolvido em VT EXT, designados Cultura A e Cultura B. Cada uma dessas duas culturas começava com um experimentador confederado, que respondia no componente VT e não respondia no componente EXT. As cores do retângulo que sinalizavam os componentes VT e EXT eram alteradas a cada troca de participante, de modo a favorecer o responder em ambas as contingências a cada vez que o novo participante era colocado na tarefa. Em um Grupo de Exposição Individual, cada participante foi exposto a três sessões experimentais seguidas, sem acesso a modelo. Ao final de cada sessão, os participantes eram solicitados a estimar o controle que tinham sobre a tarefa. Resultados mostraram que houve mais respostas em VT e em EXT para os participantes com o procedimento com troca de participantes do que para os do Grupo de Exposição Individual, indicando o efeito do comportamento do outro sobre o desempenho em esquema múltiplo. Participantes responderam tanto em EXT quanto em VT, mostrando que o desempenho não estava sendo mantido pela relação acidental com reforço, mas sim pela história prévia de observação do comportamento do modelo. Não houve qualquer tipo de correlação entre o desempenho não verbal e estimativa de controle / Superstitious behavior as response maintained by accidental relation with reinforcement can be facilitated by social variables such as modelling. Present study examined superstitious behavior in a procedure involving participants replacement or not. In replacement procedure one of the participants worked on a task on the computer while the other watched. When finished the task, the participant who was observing passed to perform the task and another participant was asked to observe. Programmed task involved basically a multiple schedule with VT and EXT components. Participants could emit responses by mouse clicking in a colored rectangle presented on computer screen. Two groups of eight subjects called \"Culture A\" and \"Culture B\" were made to evaluate developed EXT VT transmission. Each of these two cultures began with an experimenter confederate, who answered VT component but not EXT component. Rectangles color signaled VT and EXT components were changed when participant changed in order to favor responding in both contingencies with each new participant. In Individual Exhibition Group, each participant was exposed to three consecutive experimental sessions with no access. At the end of each session, participants were asked to estimate the control they had over the task. Results showed there were more responses in VT and EXT on replacing participants procedure than Individual Exhibition Group, indicating other\'s behavior effect on multiple schedule performance. Participants answered both EXT and in VT, showing that the performance was not being maintained by the accidental relation with reinforcement, but the history of observing models behavior. There was no correlation between nonverbal performance and estimation control