Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 6: Shaping and Maintaining Operant Behavior, Quote 5

“Verbal behavior supplies especially good examples of the need to consider these atoms . . . A rigorous analysis shows that the word is by no means the functional unit. Larger complexes of words—idioms, phrases, or memorized passages—may vary together under control of a single variable. On the other hand, we may observe the separate functional control of “atoms” at least as small as the separate speech sounds.” (pp. 94-95)

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