Abstract
A distinction is made between contingencies of reinforcement (contingent relations between a class of responses and a common consequence) and metacontingencies (contingent relations between a class of operants and a long-term cultural outcome). The fictional utopia portrayed in Walden Two is examined in terms of the kinds of metacontingencies characteristic ofthat culture. It is suggested that if a culture is to approximate utopia, attention must be paid to the metacontingencies and to their supporting contingencies of reinforcement.
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This article is a revised version of a paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Association of Behavior Analysis, 1985, in Columbus, Ohio.
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Glenn, S.S. Metacontingencies in Walden Two. BASA 5, 2–8 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03406059
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03406059
