Moral & Legal Control

Chapter 26

Evolution• Natural selection• Survivors survive, losers don’t• No purpose, just the way it is

No purpose

Humans• Not snails, fungi, or paramecia• We are different

Thoughtful

Reasoning

Thought and Reason• Humans may not have a purpose

•Can have purpose

Humans can select a purpose• Does not logically follow from natural

selection

•Survivors survive, losers lose…

•But, we can select a purpose

MM&T suggest this purpose…WELL-BEING OF LIFE IN

THE UNIVERSELIFE: human,

nonhuman, and plant

Values• Learned & unlearned reinforcers

and aversive conditions• Most of us have acquired values

that support the notion that we should work toward the betterment of life in the universe

How to achieve this ultimate goal?• Design systems that provide

guidance toward the goal.• Goal-directed system design

Goal-directed system design• First select the ultimate goal of a

system, • then select the various levels of

intermediate goals needed to accomplish that ultimate goal, and

• finally, select the initial goals needed to accomplish those intermediate goals.

Assumptions…• To achieve a goal, need to state

the goal and consciously design systems to achieve the goal

• SYSTEMS: organizations (UN, USA, UNCG, Psychology Department)

Systems need goals• To achieve goals, systems need:

•Resources•Rules•Contingencies

Resources

•Stuff•Examples: UN needs food,

grain, technology to prevent starvation

Rules

•Rules for use of resources•Example: Food must go to

starving, but powerless, people

Contingencies• Make sure that rules are followed• Example of a contingency that

ensures rule is followed: • local distributors of resources will

lose their privilege of distribution if they don’t distribute properly (e.g., put food on the black market)

CONTINGENCIES FOR FOLLOWING THE RULES OF GOOD RESOURCE USE

Sources of contingencies for following rules?

•Legal•Moral

Legal Contingencies

Legal Rule Control• Control by rules specifying added

analogs to behavioral contingencies and added direct-acting behavioral contingencies based on material outcomes.

Example of Legal Rule Control• Goal: healthy life form• Resource: uncontaminated

environment• Legal rule: don’t contaminate or

your will be fined• Legal contingency: a heavy fine

(analog to penalty contingency)

ANALOG TO PENALTY Before Behavior After

You will have$N in one

month.

You dump abarrel of toxic

waste.

You will have$N-2,000 inone month.

Moral (ethical) Rule Control• Control by rules specifying added

analogs to behavioral contingencies.

• Such rules specify social, religious, or supernatural outcomes.

Legal Control• Works when someone is around to

observe the behavior and impose the contingency

• Speed limits• Seat belts

What if no one is there to observe?• Moral control:

• Individuals observe their own behavior and apply punishment and avoidance contingencies (perhaps automatically)

Moral Control• If society cannot observe the

behavior, but cares about the outcome…• Impure thoughts are not illegal, just

immoral

Legal Control

•If society can observe the behavior and cares about the outcome•Parking meter expires…

•Won’t go to confession•Will cost $$$$

Moral & Legal Control

• If society can sometimes observe the behavior and sometimes it can’t•Stealing

•May go to confessional and to police station

Aversive Basis of Moral & Legal Control

• Analogs to punishment• Sins of commission (committing bad

deeds)• Analogs to avoidance

• Sins of omission (omitting or failing to do good deeds)

Why Do Legal and Moral Control Fail?

Moral Control Penalty too small

Legal Control Penalty too improbable

Congratulations!• You have completed (except for

the final exam) your first course in Behavior Analysis!!!

• You have been a pleasure to teach!

• I have appreciated your attention and thoughtful attitude about the material.