This study proposes the use of an experimental analogue of natural resource exploitation to evaluate the effects of the real-time displaying of the amount of available resources and the provision of written feedback messages on the resource extraction behavior of participants sharing a common-pool whereby participants are physically and verbally isolated from each other. The experiment involved the application of a three-member common-pool resources (CPR) game. The members of the groups sharing the CPR were changed periodically and were allowed to talk briefly to each other so that an experienced participant could give instructions to a newcomer. In this way, it was also possible to evaluate how the accuracy of instructions regarding resource preservation and sustainability affects group member resource extraction patterns and CPR maintenance in the long run. Twenty-two college students took part and were distributed into three groups: Control, Display, and Feedback. The amount of resources extracted individually and by the groups in every round of the game was analyzed, as were the verbal responses of the experienced participants when giving instructions to newcomers. Results showed that the manipulated variables were effective for the short-term decrease in the amount of resources extracted by the members of the Display and Feedback groups. The accuracy of the instructions was also important for the sustained maintenance of the pattern of consumption established by the manipulated variables, leading to the recovery and the preservation of the resources in a greater number of the game's rounds.

Preexperimental history is 1 of many variables that can affect the emergence of equivalence classes. In the present study, the stimulus equivalence paradigm was used to evaluate the effects of the participants' preexperimental history on the formation of stimulus equivalence classes that are formed by emblems of soccer clubs and adjectival words. Twenty-eight men, all members of fan clubs of 3 different Brazilian soccer clubs, participated in the study. Using a matching-to-sample procedure, the participants were taught to relate the clubs' emblems with abstract paintings and relate these paintings to the words "Good," "Poor," or "Regular." Tests evaluated the emergence of conditional relations between participant-supported club emblems and the word "Poor," between the main rival club's emblem and the word "Good," and between the minor rival club's emblem and the word "Regular." A portion of the tests involved the presentation of 2 novel stimuli: an emblem and an adjectival word that were not presented during training. Although the participants showed the formation of baseline relations and symmetry, they failed to show the emergence of transitivity and equivalence relations between the clubs' emblems and the words. Most errors were in the selection of the words "Good" and "Poor" in the presence of the emblems of the supported club and main rival club, respectively, suggesting that the participants' preexperimental history may have affected the emergence of equivalence relations. These results corroborate other studies that demonstrated an important effect of preexperimental history on the formation of equivalence classes that involve emotional and socially loaded stimuli.

This brief communication reports preliminary findings of a study conducted to investigate the relationship between probability discounting and people’s adherence to preventive behaviors recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 112 adults living in Brazil completed an online survey composed of a Probability Discounting Questionnaire (PDQ) and a 10-item assessment of how often they complied with the health authorities’ recommendations (e.g., wash the hands frequently, practice social distancing, stay at home as much as possible, wear a mask when in public). Data analysis included the participants who showed higher (n = 40) and lower (n = 40) adherence to preventive behaviors. Results revealed that probability discounting measures are related to people’s preventive actions. Participants in the higher adherence group present significantly larger risk aversion indices (i.e., larger h values) than participants in the lower adherence group. Also, participants who showed lower adherence to preventive behaviors were more likely to perform risky choices in the PDQ than participants who demonstrated higher compliance with health authorities’ recommendations. These preliminary results suggest that probability discounting can play an essential role in people’s self-protective decisions during a global health emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

A pandemia de COVID-19 se configura como um desafio global sem precedentes, cujos impactos sobre os sistemas de saúde ao redor do mundo podem ser caracterizados como uma espécie de tragédia dos comuns, na qual o número de pessoas adoecidas ao mesmo tempo pode superar rapidamente o número de equipamentos hospitalares e a quantidade de profissionais capacitados para prestar os atendimentos necessários. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo discorrer sobre os fatores comportamentais envolvidos em problemas sociais semelhantes aos enfrentados durante a atual situação de pandemia e, a partir disso, explorar estratégias que podem ser utilizadas para potencializar a adoção de ações e intervenções voltadas para minimizar os efeitos da COVID-19 sobre os indivíduos e sobre a sociedade como um todo. Processos comportamentais envolvidos no autocontrole e na cooperação social foram identificados e descritos como relacionados com uma maior ou menor probabilidade de adesão às medidas protetivas necessárias para o enfrentamento da pandemia, tais como o distanciamento social, o fortalecimento de hábitos de higiene e o uso de equipamentos de proteção individual. Com base na literatura analítico-comportamental, foram propostas nove estratégias de autocontrole e cooperação social que se configuram como alternativas não-coercitivas para se frear o avanço da doença, de modo a permitir que os sistemas de saúde atendam adequadamente todas as pessoas que precisem de cuidados médicos nesse momento.Palavras-chave: dilema dos comuns; tomada de decisão; desvalorização pelo atraso; desvalorização pela probabilidade; desvalorização social.

RESUMOAnalistas do comportamento têm investigado práticas sustentáveis desde a década de 1970. Não obstante, as pesquisas da área são limitadas em relação à abrangência dos alvos de pesquisa/intervenção, à manutenção a longo prazo de comportamentos pró-ambientais, e à sua disseminação para um público amplo. A presente pesquisa buscou identificar os principais alvos de intervenção/análise e a principal contribuição dos artigos publicados entre 2005 e 2016 no periódico Behavior and Social Issues. Os artigos foram identificados por meio dos descritores: sustentabilidade, sustentável, aquecimento global, mudança climática, comportamento pró-ambiental, proteção ambiental, conservação ambiental, reciclagem, e uso de energia. Dos 13 artigos analisados, nove investigaram, teoricamente, novas unidades de análise/intervenção, a relação entre processos psicológicos e sustentabilidade, e os efeitos de consequências imediatas e atrasadas em escolhas sustentáveis. Quatro artigos investigaram empiricamente o efeito de variáveis antecedentes, consequentes, e regras no aumento da reciclagem, na redução do consumo de energia, na transmissão de práticas sustentáveis em uma micro sociedade laboratorial, e na adaptação de um estabelecimento comercial. A presente revisão fornece um panorama da área e tem o potencial de guiar pesquisadores, estudantes, e audiências interessadas na busca por variáveis e estratégias relevantes para a promoção de práticas pró-ambientais.Palavras-chave: sustentabilidade, comportamento pró-ambiental, análise do comportamento ABSTRACT Behavior analysts have investigated sustainable practices since the 1970s. Nonetheless, such researches are limited in coverage of the research/intervention targets, long-term maintenance of pro-environmental behavior, and its dissemination to a broad public. The present research aimed to identify the main intervention/analysis targets and the main contribution of articles published between 2005 and 2016 in the journal Behavior and Social Issues. The articles were identified by the descriptors: sustainability, sustainable, global warming, climate change, pro-environmental behavior, environmental protection, environmental conservation, recycling, and energy use. Of the 13 articles analyzed, nine investigated, theoretically, new units of analysis/intervention, the relation between psychological processes and sustainability, and the effects of immediate and delayed consequences on sustainable choices. Four articles investigated the effects of antecedents, consequents, and rules on recycling, on energy consumption, on the transmission of sustainable practices in a laboratory microsociety, and on the adaptation of a commercial building. The present review provides an overview of the area and has the potential to guide researchers, students, and interested audiences in the search for relevant variables and strategies to promote pro-environmental practices.