ON THE REVOLUTIONARY NATURE OF THE OPERANT AS A UNIT OF BEHAVIORAL SELECTION

The term operant is used in many different but related ways. Implicit in most uses is the concept of the operant as a behavioral unit. Historical origins of the operant unit are traced in Skinner's early work on the relational character of behavior as a subject matter in its own right. An operant unit in an individual's repertoire is compared with am species as an evolutionary unit or taxon. It is suggested that usage of the term class in the definition of operants leads to confusion regarding the operant as category versus the operant as taxon.