ambiguous figure

a visual stimulus that can be interpreted in more than one way, such as an embedded figure or a reversible figure. A well-known example is the young girl–old woman image, in which the black-and-white drawing sometimes appears to be of a young girl and sometimes of an old lady. This phenomenon is not restricted to the visual: An ambiguous stimulus is one of any sensory modality that can have multiple interpretations.

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Psychology term of the day

November 22nd 2024

monophasic sleep

a sleep pattern in which sleeping occurs in one long period once a day, typically at night. Compare polyphasic sleep. See also sleep–wake cycle.