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The Bolsa Família Program and Cultural Design: Behavioral Interpretations of Cultural Interventions

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Abstract

Cultural design is a behavior analysis–based cultural intervention that aims for cultural practices selection by way of short-term improvements in living conditions and that results in long-term culture survival. This article uses the cultural design concept to discuss the Bolsa Família Program’s potential and consequences. To this end, the text of laws, guidelines of the Ministry of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger (MDS), and commentary on the creation and implementation of the program were examined. Then, the Bolsa Família Program was analyzed using the following analytical categories of cultural design: (a) prior environmental changes, (b) cultural practices, (c) consequences that maintain these cultural practices in the short term, and (d) long-term results of these cultural practices. The Bolsa Família Program facilitates selecting for the cultural practices targeted by the intervention through environmental changes that have immediate effects and long-term results favorable to beneficiaries. Thus, even with shortcomings in its operation, the Bolsa Família Program meets the requirements to be considered a cultural design strategy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This work was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES), by means of a Phd scholarship, Finance Code 001. This work was also supported by PROPESP/UFPA, by a program of support for qualified publication.

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Correspondence to Yan Valderlon or Liana Rosa Elias.

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Valderlon, Y., Elias, L.R. The Bolsa Família Program and Cultural Design: Behavioral Interpretations of Cultural Interventions. Behav. Soc. Iss. 28, 114–126 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-019-0003-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-019-0003-9

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