The study of verbal behavior has a long history in the Soviet Union, and some of the studies, especially those related to verbal conditioning and learning, have had considerable impact on Western research, particularly in the United States. The view set forth in this paper is that "voluntary behavior" is only that behavior which is verbally controlled and that such behavior is disturbed when the verbal instructions conflict with the child's own movements (stereotypia), or with his immediate perceptions (echopraxia). While Soviet psychological theory posits that voluntary behavior is typically verbally controlled behavior, it is argued here that voluntary behavior is only that behavior which is verbally controlled. It is precisely this fact which distinguishes the verbal control of behavior (either external or internal) from other forms of control. (RB)