Moral

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Moral Legal Control

• Chapter 26

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Evolution

• Natural selection
• Survivors survive, losers dont
• No purpose, just the way it is

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No purpose
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Humans

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

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Thoughtful
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Reasoning
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Thought and Reason

• Humans may not have a purpose
• Can have purpose

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Humans can select a purpose

• Does not logically follow from natural selection
• Survivors survive, losers lose
• But, we can select a purpose

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MMT suggest this purpose

• WELL-BEING OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
• LIFE human, nonhuman, and plant

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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

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How to achieve this ultimate goal?

• Design systems that provide guidance toward the
  goal.
• Goal-directed system design

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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.

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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)

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Systems need goals

• To achieve goals, systems need
• Resources
• Rules
• Contingencies

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Resources

• Stuff
• Examples UN needs food, grain, technology to
  prevent starvation

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Rules

• Rules for use of resources
• Example Food must go to starving, but
  powerless, people

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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 dont
  distribute properly (e.g., put food on the black
  market)

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CONTINGENCIES FOR FOLLOWING THE RULES OF GOOD
RESOURCE USE
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Sources of contingencies for following rules?

• Legal
• Moral

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Legal Contingencies
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Legal Rule Control

• Control by rules specifying added analogs to
  behavioral contingencies and added direct-acting
  behavioral contingencies based on material
  outcomes.

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Example of Legal Rule Control

• Goal healthy life form
• Resource uncontaminated environment
• Legal rule dont contaminate or your will be
  fined
• Legal contingency a heavy fine (analog to
  penalty contingency)

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Moral (ethical) Rule Control

• Control by rules specifying added analogs to
  behavioral contingencies.
• Such rules specify social, religious, or
  supernatural outcomes.

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Legal Control

• Works when someone is around to observe the
  behavior and impose the contingency
• Speed limits
• Seat belts

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What if no one is there to observe?

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

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Moral Control

• If society cannot observe the behavior, but cares
  about the outcome
• Impure thoughts are not illegal, just immoral

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Legal Control

• If society can observe the behavior and cares
  about the outcome
• Parking meter expires
• Wont go to confession
• Will cost

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Moral Legal Control

• If society can sometimes observe the behavior and
  sometimes it cant
• Stealing
• May go to confessional and to police station

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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)

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Why Do Legal and Moral Control Fail? Why Do Legal and Moral Control Fail?
Moral Control Penalty too small
Legal Control Penalty too improbable
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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.