Abstract
Considering that the distinction between the effects of stimuli that are constituent of rules and of reinforcement contingencies in the determination of behavior is not clear, this study attempts to clarify such a distinction by the presentation of the Theory of Control by Justifications and by Immediate Consequences (TJC Theory). This theory, grounded in experimental results, comprises the following concepts, as defined in previous studies: formal properties of verbal stimuli; rules; behavior; social environment; verbal social environment; nonverbal social environment; immediate consequences; justifications; justification Types 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; approval or disapproval by justification and by immediate consequences; rules with and without reported justifications; future events that may or may not be contacted; and control histories of the listener by (a) immediate differential consequences, (b) differential justifications, and (c) the interaction between justifications and immediate differential consequences for following rules and for not following rules. The theory postulates the establishment of limits between what should be attributed to functions of stimuli as constituent of rules and what should be attributed to functions of stimuli as constituent of reinforcement contingencies. TJC Theory also postulates that justification can select behavior.
Keywords:
Rule governed behavior; contingency-shaped behavior; justifications; imediate consequences; theory