Operants are purely functional units of analysis, organized by their common antecedent, consequential, and motivational sources of control. However, because topographical and functional classes of behavior-environment interactions often overlap, operants are sometimes thought of in topographical terms. The word "generalized" (or similar terms, such as "purely functional" or "overarching") is used to emphasize that this particular operant is not usefully thought of in topographical terms.
