Utterances to evaluate steps and control attention distinguish operant from respondent thought while thinking out loud

Abstract

Ss were instructed to think out loud while engaged in solving manual puzzles, solving logic problems, revery, and quasihypnagogic thought. During the manual puzzle and logic problem activity, they produced significantly more utterances in which they evaluated their previous problem-solving thoughts or acts and in which they indicated that they were controlling their attention than during revery and hypnagogic thought. The findings are interpreted to support the distinction between operant and respondent thought, and they help to characterize the former. They carry implications for theory of thinking, response organization, cognitive development, self-regulation, and thinking dysfunctions as in mental fatigue and psychosis.