diminished responsibility

a form of affirmative defense in which evidence of mental abnormality is presented to mitigate or reduce a defendant’s accountability for an act. It is distinct from an insanity defense, which takes an all-or-none perspective with regard to criminal responsibility. Also called limited responsibility. See also partial insanity.

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Psychology term of the day

January 28th 2025

autophony

n. the hearing of one’s own voice reverberating inside one’s head. Autophony is usually caused by diseases of the middle ear, such as serous otitis media, a condition called patulous eustachian tube in which the eustachian tube remains open, or superior canal dehiscence. Also called autophonia; autophonic response.