abaissement du niveau mental
In analytical psychology, a reduced state of concentration and attention, accompanied by a loosening of inhibitions and relaxation of restraints, in which unexpected contents may emerge from the ...
abasia
Inability to walk. Compare dysbasia. [From Greek a- without + basis a step, from bainein to step or go + -ia indicating a condition or quality]
ABC
1 A model used in rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) for analysing a client's problems systematically into: A, the activating event; B, the mediating evaluative beliefs; and C, behavioural and ...
abducens nerve
Either of the sixth pair of cranial nerves controlling the lateral rectus muscles of the eyes, turning the eye outwards for a sidelong direction of gaze. Paralysis of this nerve causes convergent ...
aberration
1 A deviation from what is normal, usual, or right. See also chromosomal aberration.2 A temporary lapse of behaviour or mental function. 3 A defect of the crystalline lens of the eye, or of any other ...
ability test
A test that measures a person's current level of performance or that estimates future performance. The term sometimes denotes an achievement test, sometimes an aptitude test, and sometimes an ...
ablation experiment
A basic research method of physiological psychology based on ablation, especially during the first three-quarters of the 20th century, in which an attempt is made to determine the functions of a ...
ableism
Discrimination against people who are not able-bodied, or an assumption that it is necessary to cater only for able-bodied people. The term was coined by US feminists in the 1980s and was later used ...
Abney effect
1 The slight change in the hue of monochromatic light when its lightness changes as a result of white light being added to it.2 A perceptual phenomenon whereby a large surface that is suddenly ...
Abney's law
The principle according to which the total luminance of light composed of several wavelengths is equal to the sum of the luminances of its monochromatic components. [Named after the English chemist ...
abnormal
Departing from what is usual or what is the rule or norm (1, 2). [From Latin ab from + norma a rule + -alis of or relating to]
abnormal psychology
A branch of psychology devoted to the study of the classification, aetiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders and disabilities. Also called psychopathology. Compare clinical ...
Abraham Lincoln effect
The tendency for a block portrait to be difficult to recognize as a meaningful image when viewed close up but to become more recognizable when viewed from a distance or when blurred by half closing ...
abreaction
(ab-ree-ak-shŏn)the release of strong emotion commonly associated with a buried memory. Abreaction may be induced as a treatment for conversion disorder, anxiety state, and other neurotic conditions.
absence
The state or condition of being away from a place. In abnormal psychology and neurology, a brief period of loss of attention or consciousness, often followed by amnesia for the period of absence, ...
absent-mindedness
Preoccupation to the point of being inattentive to one's own behaviour and surroundings, often characterized by action slips arising from open-loop control of actions that demand closed-loop control ...
absolute acuity
The maximum keenness or sharpness of a sense organ to detect weak stimuli, usually expressed in terms of the absolute threshold. See also acuity. Compare differential acuity.
absolute error
In psychophysics, the difference between the judged value of a stimulus and its true value, ignoring the direction of the difference. Compare relative error. [Alluding to the mathematical sense of ...
