date-rape drug

a common colloquial term for a drug that is surreptitiously administered to impair consciousness or memory for the purpose of sexual exploitation of the victim. Such drugs are typically introduced into alcoholic beverages in social settings. Date-rape drugs include barbiturates, high-potency benzodiazepines (flunitrazepam, triazolam), ketamine, and the illicit substance GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate). The most common slang for these drugs is roofies, from Rohypnol, the trade name for flunitrazepam. The U.S. Congress passed the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act in 1996, making it a federal crime to give an unaware person a controlled substance with the intent of committing violence against him or her.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

valence–instrumentality–expectancy theory

a theory of work motivation holding that the level of effort exerted by employees will depend on a combination of three variables: (a) the expectancy of employees that effort will lead to success in the job, (b) the belief of employees that success will lead to particular outcomes (see instrumentality theory), and (c) the value of these outcomes (see valence). A numerical value can be obtained for variable (a) using the subjective probability estimates of employees, for variable (b) by measuring the correlation of performance to rewards, and for variable (c) by asking employees to rate the desirability of the rewards. The motivational force, or the amount of effort employees will exert, can then be calculated. See also path–goal theory of leadership; Porter–Lawler model of motivation. [proposed in 1964 by Canadian organizational psychologist Victor H. Vroom (1932– )]