MINDSET

noun Also written mind-set (People and Society) In colloquial use: an attitude or frame of mind; an unthinking assumption or opinion. Etymology: A weakened sense of mindset, which was originally a more precise psychological and sociological term referring to habits of mind which had been formed as a result of previous events or environment and which affected a person's attitudes. History and Usage: This more general use of mindset became a fashionable synonym for attitude, starting in the late seventies in American journalistic writing, and spreading to British use as well during the eighties. The vogue made the more precise and original sense difficult to use, since many readers now think of mindset as being the same thing as attitude, rather than an event or condition imprinted on the psyche in such a way as to inform attitudes. The Kemeny report asserted that a change in 'mind-set', or mental attitude, was essential if nuclear safety was to be assured. Scientific American Mar. 1980, p. 33 The Western scientists noted the Chernobyl reactor had the best operating record of any in the Soviet Union and said the operators had got into a 'mindset' that nothing could go wrong. Australian Financial Review 26 Sept. 1986, p. 39 The mindset of a team...is...critical. Toronto Sun 13 Apr. 1988, p. 32