decremental conduction

the exponential decay in the size of a membrane potential with distance from the site of stimulation when a subthreshold stimulus is applied to an axon. Compare nondecremental conduction. See also cable properties.

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

February 2nd 2025

premoral stage

1. in Jean Piaget’s theory of moral development, the stage at which young children (under the age of 5) are unaware of rules as cooperative agreements; that is, they are unable to distinguish right from wrong. Compare autonomous stage; heteronomous stage.

2. the stage that precedes the preconventional level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and corresponds to infancy (birth to roughly 18 months).