mentalism (n.)

In LINGUISTICS, the influence of this school of thought (that mental states and processes exist independently of their manifestations of behavior, and can explain behavior) is most marked in the work of Noam Chomsky, especially in his notions of COMPETENCE and INNATENESS, and in his general views of the relationship between LANGUAGE and mind (a ‘theory of mind’). In this respect, mentalistic linguistics is opposed to the BEHAVIORISM of earlier psychological work on language.