1. describing a term or expression that can be understood only in the context of a particular theory. For example, some specialized vocabulary used in accounts of behavioral phenomena can be understood only in the context of the theory that generated the vocabulary and in the context of other constructs that are part of the theory’s explanatory accounts.

2. describing a proposition or observation that reflects theoretical presuppositions on the part of the person who deploys it. Often these presuppositions, which may be a source of bias, are nonconscious or unacknowledged. Some claim that all observations are theory-laden and thus that objectivity is impossible.