NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON BEHAVIOR, COGNITION, AND TEACHING (INCT-ECCE): Behavioral sciences applied to symbolic function - implications for equity and social inclusion

INCT-ECCE' studies are guided by the vision of modern behavioral science that treats symbolic behavior based on stimulus equivalence (equivalence defined, as in mathematics, by the properties of symmetry, transitivity and reflexivity). There is robust evidence demonstrating that equivalence relations can be taught, transformed, reversed, and that they can generate new relations that were not directly taught before. Moreover, they can alter the behavioral functions of stimuli based on stimuli functions to which they are related; and stimuli can be related not only by equivalence, but by other types of relations, such as opposition, causality, comparison, etc. Symbolic relations are conceived as the basis of language and cognition, which are intrinsically related to socialization and social behavior. This approach to symbolic behavior brought important implications for the present proposal. The first one is the challenge to conceive the origin of symbolic behavior without the traditional divisions between learning, nature (physiology, evolution) and culture, integrating the behavioral investigation to these different levels of analysis. The second is the perspective of understanding, based on symbolic behavioral science, the profound implications of language on the control of human behavior, including effects on preference for narratives and the strength of beliefs. The third one is practical: to build sustainable and socially committed technologies for the teaching of symbolic behavior, in particular, to challenging populations, to whom teaching also represents progress in the field of inclusion. The present project advances the existing scientific program, combining basic and applied research focused on three general themes: 1. Human development, especially in respect to language and cognition (implicating challenges for regular and special education); 2. The building of sustainable environments; 3. The role of beliefs, biases and narratives on social facts.