criminal responsibility

a defendant’s ability to formulate criminal intent (see mens rea) at the time of the crime with which he or she is charged; it must be proved in court before the person can be convicted. Criminal responsibility may be excluded for reason of insanity (see Durham rule; irresistible impulse rule; M’Naghten rule) or mitigated for a number of other reasons (see diminished capacity; diminished responsibility).

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Psychology term of the day

January 23rd 2025

face recognition

face recognition

the identification of a specific face. A specialized face-recognition region in the temporal lobe has been demonstrated by brain imaging; injury to this region results in such deficits as prosopagnosia, a failure to recognize previously familiar faces.