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structuralism

 - 5 dictionary results

struc⋅tur⋅al⋅ism

[struhk-cher-uh-liz-uhm]
–noun
1. any theory that embodies structural principles.
2. structural anthropology.
3. structural linguistics.
4. structural psychology.

Origin:
1945–50; structural + -ism


struc⋅tur⋅al⋅ist, noun, adjective
struc⋅tur⋅al⋅is⋅tic, adjective

structural linguistics

–noun
1. a usually synchronic approach to language study in which a language is analyzed as an independent network of formal systems, each of which is composed of elements that are defined in terms of their contrasts with other elements in the system.
2. a school of linguistics that developed in the U.S. during the 1930s–1950s, characterized by such an approach and by an emphasis on the overt formal features of language, esp. of phonology, morphology, and syntax.
Also called structuralism.

structural psychology

–noun
psychology centering on the analysis of the structure or content of conscious mental states by introspective methods.
Also called structuralism.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To structuralism
struc·tur·al·ism   (strŭk'chər-ə-lĭz'əm)   
n.  
  1. A method of analyzing phenomena, as in anthropology, linguistics, psychology, or literature, chiefly characterized by contrasting the elemental structures of the phenomena in a system of binary opposition.

  2. A school that advocates and employs such a method.

struc'tur·al·ist adj. & n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: struc·tur·al·ism
Pronunciation: 'str&k-ch&-r&-"liz-&m, 'str&k-shr&-
Function: noun
: psychologyconcerned especially with resolution of the mind into structural elements
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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