atomism

1. the view that psychological phenomena can best be understood by analyzing them into elementary units, such as sensations or conditioned responses, and by showing how these units combine to form thoughts, images, perceptions, and behavior. Also called atomistic psychology; molecularism. See also elementarism; reductionism.

2. in vision, the principle that visual perception of a complex stimulus results from an analysis of its elementary components. —atomistic adj.

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Psychology term of the day

November 19th 2024

stepdown test

a memory test used in studies of shock-avoidance learning in rats and mice. When the animal first steps down from an elevated platform in the test chamber, it receives a brief foot shock. On subsequent test trials, the animal is usually much slower to step down, indicating its memory for the shock experience; a lack of hesitation in stepping down on postshock trials is considered a sign of cognitive impairment. Also called stepdown avoidance.