The Revealed Operant: A Way to Study the Characteristics of Individual Occurrences of Operant Responses

An operant is a "revealed operant" (rO) if it is specified as a sequence of more than two recorded sub-operants. The first and last sub-operants must be made on different manipulanda. An rO differs from traditional operants (those that are recorded as single instantaneous events) in that more than one of its sub-operants is recorded. This feature makes the rO a practical model for studying the structure of individual occurrences of operants. For each occurrence, several types of behavioral measures, including duration, sub-operant patterns, and the operant's internal structure, can be examined. This monograph describes a practical method for implementing rOs and discusses how the rO model can be used to address various issues in the field of behavior research. Among these are reinforcement, behavior shaping, variability, acquisition, extinction, automatization, punishment, choice behavior, equivalence, transition behavior, behavioral cyclicity, and drug effects. Commentary by Donald M. Baer, M. Jackson Marr, John A. Nevin, Thom Verhave. Response by Francis Mechner. Edited by Sigrid S. Glenn.