operationism
/ˌɑpəˈreɪʃəˌnɪzəm/
noun
- The theory or practice of defining scientific concepts in terms of the operations or procedures used to measure or observe them.
- Many psychologists criticized operationism for being too narrow and ignoring theoretical meaning.
- Operationism requires that a concept like 'intelligence' be defined by the specific tests used to measure it.
- The physicist's approach was influenced by operationism, focusing only on what could be directly measured.
Synonyms