Análise Comportamental do Autocontrole e Práticas das Terapias de Terceira Geração

• Autores: Paola Esposito Almeida, Nilza Micheletto
• Localización: Acta comportamentalia: revista latina de análisis del comportamiento, ISSN 0188-8145, Vol. 34, Nº. 3, 2026, págs. 467-484
• Idioma: portugués
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Behavioral Analysis of Self-Control and Third-Generation Therapy Practices
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• Resumen
  • English

    This article explores the concept of self-control in light of behavior analysis and articulates experimental findings in the field with intervention proposals aimed at controlling impulsive behavior in the face of aversive contingencies. Under these conditions, impulsive behavior is characterized by the choice of immediate, less aversive consequences, while self-controlled behavior results in greater aversive consequences after a delay. Although frequent and observed among non-human subjects and human participants, impulsive choices in aversive conditions are considered undesirable because they hinder the ability to deal with situations that, although initially uncomfortable, could yield benefits or prevent future losses. For a conceptual analysis of self-control behavior, we revisit the Skinnerian proposal, which: 1) explores the contingency that distinguishes self-control behavior from other forms of action in which the individual manipulates the conditions determining their behavior; 2) highlights the role that the community plays in establishing this behavior; and 3) evaluates the transformations that may allow this behavior to be established and maintained. The importance of various strategies for producing self-control is discussed, such as: a) elaborating distracting responses that compete with impulsive behaviors; b) self-observation regarding external and internal stimuli that evoke avoidance responses; c) self-evaluation by describing the different conflicting consequences generated by the involved behaviors; d) control by rules to manage responses that compete with an impulsive pattern; and e) delaying contact with aversives, as evidenced by empirical investigations of delay discounting studies. Empirical studies are cited to illustrate the proposed discussions, aiming to clarify the processes involved in self-control and the strategies adopted to reduce impulsive behavior in the face of aversive stimulation, which competes with the maintenance of desirable behavioral patterns. The concept of delay discounting and the competing contingencies involved in impulsive behavior are discussed, along with an explanation of the variables manipulated to revert this behavior. This analysis recognizes how the basic principles of behavior analysis can explain the construction of self-controlled behavior, as well as reinterpret the procedures involved in the interventions of third-generation behavioral therapies, such as mindfulness, acceptance, cognitive defusion, creative hopelessness, and value establishment. The importance of understanding how self-control behavior is established and describing the processes that sustain it is explored and justified in the conceptual discussion of different intervention proposals.

  • português

    O presente ensaio recupera a proposta skinneriana de autocontrole e descreve estudos experimentais sobre o fenômeno, a fim de interpretar estratégias de intervenção propostas por terapias de terceira geração. O artigo explora as contingências responsáveis pelo comportamento impulsivo em contextos aversivos e descreve o impacto do desconto por atraso para a compreensão de quadros clínicos em que se observa a manutenção de comportamentos indesejáveis por reforçadores negativos imediatos, a despeito de consequências futuras desfavoráveis. Estudos empíricos que buscaram reverter o comportamento impulsivo foram citados, sendo apresentadas estratégias que incluíam a manipulação do atraso de consequências aversivas, o estabelecimento de respostas distrativas, a imposição do controle por regras e a implementação de contingências de monitoramento que envolviam respostas de auto-observação e autoavaliação. A participação dessas estratégias na produção dos efeitos obtidos pelas terapias de terceira geração foi apontada, sendo descritos estudos que utilizaram técnicas de atenção plena (mindfulness), aceitação, desfusão cognitiva, desesperança criativa e estabelecimento de valores para sustentar a interpretação proposta. A discussão permitiu indicar possíveis variáveis a serem manipuladas em futuras intervenções, buscando promover uma articulação técnico-conceitual de diferentes práticas, sustentada por princípios da análise do comportamento.