ecstatic trance

an altered state of consciousness characterized by joy and happiness. It is often associated with various religious practices, such as intense meditation or certain emotional styles of worship. See also mysticism; voodoo.

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

perceptual organizational deficit

a phenomenon in which a subset of people with schizophrenia have particular difficulty visually integrating the parts of an object and seeing them as an ensemble. For example, if looking at a watch, they will perceive the hands, the dial, and the numbers as separate forms but will have difficulty processing the watch face as a whole. [coined by U.S. psychologist Steven M. Silverstein (1962– )]