operationistn.adj.
/ˌɒpəˈreɪʃn̩ɪst/, U.S. /ˌɑpəˈreɪʃənəst/ A. n.
= operationalist n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > empiricism > [noun] > operationalism > adherent of
operationalist1931
operationist1936
1936 E. G. Spaulding World of Chance vii. 193 In such a unit the ‘operationist’ is not interested, since operationally it cannot be found.
1951 Mind 60 53 All operationists are rationalistic in the sense that they maintain that unless scientists define their terms operationally they will not uncover Nature's secrets.
1968 J. J. C. Smart Between Sci. & Philos. v. 143 The instrumentalist..would agree with the operationist in holding that in science no statements are made about entities other than macroscopic observables.
2001 Marketing Res. (Nexis) 13 26 Three umpires are asked to justify their calls... The third umpire, an operationist, says ‘The way I call them—that's the way they are.’
B. adj.
= operationalist adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > empiricism > [adjective] > of or relating to positivism > of branches of
Machian1927
operationalist1934
operationist1950
1950 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. 40 112 An unwarranted assumption is..that a person who is frustrated in a behaviourist or operationist sense, necessarily feels frustrated.
1956 E. H. Hutten Lang. Mod. Physics ii. 62 The operationist theory of meaning..is not acceptable.
1995 Jrnl. Southern Hist. 61 901/2 Lee Cronbach..presents in Chapter 1 five evaluative perspectives of validity: functional, political, operationist, economic, and explanatory.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.adj.1936