decompensation

n. a breakdown in an individual’s defense mechanisms, resulting in progressive loss of normal functioning or worsening of psychiatric symptoms.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

December 22nd 2024

multistore model of memory

any theory hypothesizing that information can move through and be retained in any of several memory storage systems, usually of a short-term and a long-term variety. The first to propose a multistore model were U.S. cognitive psychologists Richard C. Atkinson and Richard M. Shiffrin (1942– ) in 1968 (see information-processing model), with other researchers subsequently proposing their own such models as well. Also called storage-and-transfer model of memory. See dual-store model of memory; modal model of memory.