Synonyms and antonyms of Specific theories and beliefs in British Thesaurus

atheism (noun)

the belief or theory that God does not exist

authoritarianism (noun)

the belief that people with power should control what other people can do, or a situation in which this happens

behaviorism ()

the American spelling of behaviourism

behaviourism (noun)

the belief that the scientific study of people’s minds should be based only on their behaviour

cognitive learning theory (noun)

a theory of learning based on the ways in which the mind processes and stores knowledge

conspiracy theory (noun)

the idea that a group of people secretly worked together to cause a particular event

constructivism (noun)

psychology a theory of learning based on the idea that people actively construct knowledge rather than receiving it passively

cynicism (noun)

the belief that people care only about themselves and are not sincere or honest

cynicism (noun)

the belief that things will not be successful or useful

determinism (noun)

the belief that everything is caused by another event or action and so you are not free to choose what you do

dualism (noun)

formal the belief that something has two aspects or parts

elitism (noun)

the belief that a small group of people who have a lot of advantages should keep the most power and influence

empiricism (noun)

the belief that ideas should be based on real experience or scientific experiments rather than on theory

fatalism (noun)

the belief that you cannot prevent things from happening, especially bad things

functionalism (noun)

the belief that things should be designed and built to be useful and practical rather than attractive

individualism (noun)

the belief that the freedom of individual people is more important than the needs of society or the government

kaizen (noun)

a Japanese set of ideas about business that encourages people to continue to improve their personal and professional life

materialism (noun)

the belief that money and possessions are the most important aspects of human existence

materialism (noun)

the philosophical belief that only the physical world that people experience directly exists

mentalism (noun)

the theory that language is an innate property of the mind

nihilism (noun)

the belief that nothing in life has any importance or value

Parkinson’s law (noun)

the theory that work always takes as long as the time that you have available to do it

positivism (noun)

a way of thinking that is based only on scientific facts and not on other types of knowledge

relativism (noun)

the belief that things like truth and morals change depending on a particular culture or situation. Someone who believes this is called a relativist

revisionism (noun)

the development of ideas that are different from the official or traditional ideas of a particular group. This word often shows that you think the new ideas are wrong.

revivalism (noun)

the process of encouraging new interest in something such as an old tradition or a type of music

sociocultural learning theory (noun)

the theory that learning is a social process and that the learner moves from dependency towards autonomy through social interaction

Sod’s Law (noun)

Britishhumorous the theory that if something can go wrong it will go wrong

solipsism (noun)

the theory that the only thing you can be certain about is your own existence and your own thoughts and ideas

speciesism (noun)

informal the idea that animals are less important than humans and do not have as many natural rights

structuralism (noun)

a method of studying something such as art, language, or society by examining the structures on which they are based

trickle-down theory (noun)

an economic theory according to which poor people benefit when richer people become even richer