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16 - Explanation by Consequences and Natural Selection

from IV - LESSONS FROM THE NATURAL SCIENCES

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Summary

Reinforcement

All explanation is causal explanation. We explain an event by citing its cause. Causes precede their effects in time. It follows that we cannot explain an event, such as an action, by its consequences. If, however, the explanandum is a pattern of recurrent behavior, the consequences of that behavior on one occasion can enter into the causes that make its occurrence on a later occasion more likely. There are two main ways in which this can happen: by reinforcement and by selection. I shall focus on the second, since it is the more important for my purposes, but begin with some words about the first.

If the consequences of given behavior are pleasant or rewarding, we tend to engage in it more often; if they are unpleasant or punishing it will occur less often. The underlying mechanism could simply be conscious rational choice, if we notice the pleasant or unpleasant consequences and decide to act in the future so as to repeat or avoid repeating the experience. Often, however, the reinforcement can happen without intentional choice. When infants learn to cry because the parents reward them by picking them up when they do, there is no reason to think that they first consciously note the benefits from crying and then later cry at will to get them. When older children throw a tantrum to get their way, parents can usually tell that it is not a genuine one.

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Explaining Social Behavior
More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences
, pp. 271 - 286
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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