Let’s look at another example. Read this example about Helen. And then think about whether or not Helen’s selection of an art medium at the end of class is an operant. Then think about whether or not it is a generalized operant.
After several weeks in art class, Helen learned that her teacher gave her a good grade only when her artwork was done with colored pencils. By the end of class, Helen was using colored pencils for all of her artwork.
It IS an operant because each response typically has the same effect (getting a good grade) in a given context (art class).
It is NOT a generalized operant. She picked the same medium every time, so the form of each selection response was pretty similar.