Dictionary

Spockian en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From Spock + -ian.

Meanings

1. Related to, or characteristic of, Dr. Benjamin Spock or his parenting philosophy.
   • The triumph of the Spockian dictum of a privatized child-rearing world, shorn of political concerns, may, in part, explain the vehemence with which Dr. Spock has been attacked for his own peace activities. 1988, Nancy Pottishman Weiss, “Mother, the Invention of Necessity: Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care”, in N. Ray Hiner, Joseph M. Hawes, editors, Growing Up in America: Children in Historical Perspective, University of Illinois Press, →ISBN:
   • They seem to be more certain that desire can be gratified than that it can be aroused — a response that probably owes much to Spockian child-rearing. In earlier times a mother responded to her child's needs when they were expressed powerfully enough to distract her from other cares and activities. Spockian mothers, however, often tried to anticipate the child's needs:[…] 1990, Philip Elliot Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness: American Culture at the Breaking Point, Beacon Press, →ISBN, page 100:
   • The Spockian ploy is to announce one's sins and then go right ahead and compound them. All the man does is shed a few crocodile tears over the parents' unhappy lot and then proceed directly with his blueprint for infantocracy. 1968, Frederick C. Crews, The Patch Commission, page 25:
   • The Spockian influence on motherhood-at-large is, today, almost legendary. 1960, "Now 'Dr. Spock' Goes to the White House, The New York Times, 1960 December 4
2. Related to, or characteristic of, the character Spock from Star Trek, especially in being emotionally detached.
   • Most cognitive psychologists in the mideighties viewed the brain as a computer-like mechanism based on pure logic and rational thought. There was no room for emotions in their Spockian formulation. 2009, Paul Herr, Primal Management: Unraveling the Secrets of Human Nature to Drive High Performance, AMACOM, →ISBN, page 24:
   • She bit into tough, stringy meat that had a pungent, wild taste to it. "Interesting," she commented, attempting a Spockian neutrality. 1997, Alex Matthews, Satan's Silence: The Second Cassidy McCabe Mystery, Intrigue Press, →ISBN, page 135:
   • And you can see from the Spockian ears and the raised eyebrows, he had a positive Mephistophelian look. 1989, Howard Aiken, “Early Inventors”, in Robert Slater, editor, Portraits in Silicon, The MIT Press, →ISBN:

Forms

Synonyms

Spockish (Mr Spock) · Spockish (Benjamin Spock)