monothetic

Monothetic refers to a type of psychological or cognitive process that involves the use of a single, overarching concept or category to organize and make sense of a complex set of stimuli or information. This concept, often referred to as a monothetic concept, is used to reduce complexity and make decisions or judgments based on a reduction of complexity to simplicity.

The term "monothetic" was first introduced by the American psychologist Jacob Kovalik in 1960, who used it to describe a type of cognitive process in which a single organizing principle or concept was used to categorize a wide range of stimuli. Monothetic processes are often contrasted with polythetic processes, which involve the use of multiple, overlapping categories to make sense of complex information.

Monothetic thinking is often associated with the idea of categorizing complex stimuli as "either/or" situations, where choices are seen as binary and mutually exclusive. For example, a monothetic thinker might conclude that a particular product is either a "good" or a "bad" option, without considering the many nuances and shades of gray in between.

Research suggests that monothetic thinking can be both an asset and a liability, depending on the situation. On the one hand, monothetic thinking can help individuals make quick, decisive decisions in situations where time is of the essence. On the other hand, monothetic thinking can also lead to oversimplification and a failure to consider important context or subtle details.

As a cognitive strategy, monothetic thinking is thought to be closely related to intellectual and emotional processes such as abstraction, categorization, and decision-making. While monothetic thinking is not necessarily "good" or "bad" in and of itself, it is an important area of study in fields such as psychology, cognitive science, and decision theory.