Afinal, o que é controle aversivo?

• Maria Helena Leite Hunziker ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidade de São Paulo

     Universidade de São Paulo

     Brasil

     
• Localización: Acta comportamentalia: revista latina de análisis del comportamiento, ISSN 0188-8145, Vol. 19, Nº. 4, 2011 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Monográfico: Simpósio Sobre Controle Aversivo (SICA II)), págs. 9-19
• Idioma: portugués
• Títulos paralelos:
  • After all, what is aversive control?
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• Resumen
  • English

    Aversive control is present in most of the relations between an organism and the environment. However, this predominance has not generated a commensurate volume of studies among behavior analysts: in the majority of research in this area, only positive reinforcement in operant contingencies is arranged. This text assumes that a major development in studies of aversive control is a necessary condition for conducting behavior analysis in a more complete and balanced way, both in basic research and in applied conditions. The scientifi c meaning of the term “control” is discussed within Behavior Analysis, as well as the factors that characterize this control as “aversive.” The analysis of the concept is functional, considering the relational probabilities between responses and stimuli that occur in a continuous interaction between organisms and the environment. We conclude that, regardless of their qualitative classifi cation, the term “control” means that the probability of occurrence of an event (the controlled one) has changed by the occurrence of another event (the controller). This defi nition encompasses both operant and respondent relations. The bi-directionality of the control (between organism and environment) is considered the essential feature for the behavior to be understood as a dynamic process with continuous changes that produce individuality. Aversive control is then characterized by the “operations” (addition and subtraction of the stimulus), their “effects”(increase or decrease of the response probability) and the “nature of the stimulus” involved (aversive or appetitive). We conclude that the joint analysis of the operation and the effect is suffi cient to defi ne each behavioral relation, but does not help identifying the common factor that justifi es their grouping under the name of aversive control. The development of experimental analysis on covert respondents (related to feelings or emotional responses) is suggested as an alternative criterion for the characterization of the aversiveness of the control to be defi ned more clearly without the use of circular reasoning or subjective considerations.

  • português

    Embora a literatura relativa à análise do comportamento descreva as relações que envolvem controle aversivo, esse termo não é, em si, defi nido claramente. O presente texto visa analisar conceitualmente o que signifi ca “controle” e que fatores o caracterizam como “aversivo”. O termo “controle” é analisado funcionalmente, considerando-se as probabilidades relacionais envolvidas nas relações operantes e respondentes.

    Destaca-se a característica de bi-direcionalidade do controle na interação organismo/ambiente, o que caracteriza essa relação como dinâmica e responsável pela renovação contínua do comportamento e pela sua individualidade. A análise dos fatores que caracterizam o controle é feita a partir das operações e seus efeitos comportamentais, bem como da natureza dos estímulos envolvidos nas relações nomeadas como aversivas.

    Conclui-se que nenhum desses fatores permite a caracterização objetiva do agrupamento das relações aversivas. Sugere-se que o maior desenvolvimento de estudos experimentais sobre respondentes encobertos (respostas “emocionais”) pode ser um fator que ajude a tornar mais objetiva essa classifi cação.