After all, what's Selection by Consequences?

Authors

  • Monalisa de Fátima Freitas Carneiro Leão Universidade Federal do Pará
  • Marcus Bentes Carvalho Neto Universidade Federal do Pará

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v20i3.47438

Keywords:

selectionism, explanation of behavior, behavior analysis, Skinner, variation, selection

Abstract

The Skinner's proposal entitled 'Selection by Consequences' seems to ensure a commitment to selectionist
epistemology. This notion, however, lacks a consensual definition in the area. The aim of this article is to
propose a conceptualization of Skinnerian proposal. We have examined such explanatory proposal
through an analysis of the main Skinnerian texts on the subject, in order to delimit the sufficient and
defining aspects of this scientific proposal. We have concluded that 'selection by consequences' can be
defined as a causal mode based on a probabilistic interdependence relationship between events, which
explains the origin and evolution of behavioral phenomena as product of three histories of variation and
selection: phylogenetic, ontogenetic and cultural.

Author Biographies

Monalisa de Fátima Freitas Carneiro Leão, Universidade Federal do Pará

Aluna de doutorado do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento/Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento

Marcus Bentes Carvalho Neto, Universidade Federal do Pará

Doscente e vice-coordenador do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento/Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento

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Published

2017-01-23

How to Cite

Leão, M. de F. F. C., & Carvalho Neto, M. B. (2017). After all, what’s Selection by Consequences?. Interação Em Psicologia, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v20i3.47438

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 3 (2016)

Section

Seção especial

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