The theory development thusfar says that humans learn complex basic behavioral repertoires some of which determine their later characteristics. Specifying those BBRs, and how they are effected by learning, constitute a central subject for psychology. In actuality, the traditional field of child development has studied some of those repertoires, even without that intent, but has not studied how learning enters into that development.

What are these BBRs and when and how are they learned? In answer, that learning begins from birth . Moreover, the period of infancy and childhood centrally involves the beginning of and some of the most important parts of this learning. That makes the field of child development very important in the structure of psychological behaviorism and in psychology. . For example, longitudinal study has documented the times of emergence of various developments such as walking, talking, and emotional responding to care takers. Psychological behaviorism has begun the important work of analyzing a wide number of such repertoires—ranging from walking to intelligence--in terms of the behaviors involved and in terms of how those behaviors are learned (see Staats, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1996; Staats & Burns, 1981; Staats & Butterfield, 1965; Staats, Brewer, & Gross, 1970; Staats, Staats, Schutz, & Wolf, 1962; Staats, Finley, Minke, & Wolf, 1964; Staats, Minke, & Butts, 1970). On the basis of this research and theory PB has formulated a theory of child development (see Staats, 1996, chapt. 4).

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