The Metacontingency and the Behavioral Contingency: Points of Contact and Departure

Abstract

The nature of the relationship of the concepts of the metacontingency and the macrocontingency with the behavioral contingency is explicated in this paper. We provide an examination of the levels of analysis involved in the behavioral contingency and metacontingency as well as of the parallel between these two types of contingency. In doing so, we identify points of contact and departure between behavior analysis and cultural analysis. We suggest a set of refinements to the metacontingency that would bring about a better parallel of this concept with the behavioral contingency as well as a greater consistency in the associated levels of analysis.