behaviorism
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.16 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An approach focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denying any independent significance for mind, largely ignores any pathophysiological processes which may, or may not, underlie subjective, behavioral phenomena.
American usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
The theory that a mental state is identical to the disposition or tendency to behave in accordance with the physical causes; statements about the mind are reducible to statements of physical behavior.
American usage; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Behaviorism is considered by most philosophers of medicine, to be an expression of the weaker, minimalist interpretation of the 'medical model' of clinical psychology because it focuses the study and classification of mental disorders upon a phenomenological, rather than a pathophysiological, approach to the subject."
- "Supporters of behaviorism claim that to be "in pain" is nothing more than the tendency to wince, yelp, scream "ouch!" and so on."
- "Behaviorism rejects the idea that the mind is a spiritual thing, and rejects it principally because there can never be the public human experience of spirits upon which alone the idea and knowledge of such things could be founded."
- "A traditional objection to behaviorism was that behaviorism could not be right because a system could behave as if it were conscious without actually being conscious."
- "Behaviorism provides an avenue for the proponent of scientism to resist the argument from the nature of the mind because it holds that minds solely consist in third-person, objective, public facts about people (namely, their behavior) which are amenable to scientific investigation."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-der. Proto-Germanic *habjaną Proto-West Germanic *habbjan Proto-West Germanic *bihabbjan Old English behabban Middle English behaven Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *haβēō Latin habeō Old French avoirbor. Middle English havour Middle English behavoure English behavior Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English behaviorism From behavior + -ism.
Usage
- American usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
behavioral psychology
logical behaviorism
philosophical behaviorism
analytical behaviorism
analytic behaviorism
analytic behaviourism
analytical behaviourism
behaviorism
behaviourism
logical behaviourism
philosophical behaviourism