Cultural Contingencies

In recent years, a number of books devoted to a behavior analytic approach to cultural practices have appeared, and this book falls within that domain. At the same time, however, this book is unique in that it minimizes the space devoted to abstract discussion of behavior analytic concepts and principles. Instead, the authors focus exclusively upon particular cultural practices, which are disparate and drawn from three countries, ranging from public health practices to historical utopian communities to various practices of visual artists, art dealers, and gallery owners. In addition, cultural practices regarding women and the changing Japanese society's effect on Japanese women's behavior are considered. Changes in policies aimed at increasing the birth rate in Quebec are analyzed in behavior analytic terms. The wide range of cultural practices addressed by this book are given coherence by the fact that all are addressed by the various authors in terms of behavior analytic concepts and principles. This book is further confirmation of the fact, unappreciated by some, that a behavior analytic approach can address practices that consist of the behaviors of large numbers of people. The authors demonstrate that the behavior analytic approach is not culture-bound. Rather, they show that behavior analytic concepts and principles can illuminate human practices in any culture.

P. A. LAMAL is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the editor of Behavioral Analysis of Societies and Cultural Practices (1991).