Operator Compounds: A Compositional Theory of Human Cognition and Behavior

Operator Compounds: A Compositional Theory of Human Cognition and Behavior proposes a structural framework for understanding how elementary cognitive capacities combine to produce higher-order human capabilities. The theory introduces operators as functional cognitive capacities, operator compounds as stable organizations of interacting operators, and compound networks as higher-order organizations responsible for complex capacities such as deliberation, responsibility, self-regulation, resilience, and identity. The framework argues that development is fundamentally a process of organizational construction rather than information accumulation. Human capabilities emerge through the progressive formation, stabilization, and integration of operators, compounds, and networks. The paper develops a model of compound formation, degradation, collapse, and reconstruction, applies the framework to childhood development, proposes the Network Absorption Hypothesis, and outlines a research program with testable developmental predictions.