experience-expectant process

in brain development, a predetermined maturational process in which synapses are formed and maintained only when an organism has undergone expected species-typical experiences during a particular critical period. Such functions as vision will develop for all members of a species if given species-typical environmental stimulation (e.g., light).

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Psychology term of the day

October 6th 2024

hypothetico-deductive method

a method of scientific inquiry in which the credibility or explanatory power of a falsifiable hypothesis is tested by making predictions on the basis of this hypothesis and determining whether these predictions are consistent with empirical observations. It is one of the most widely used scientific methods for disproving hypotheses and building corroboration for those that remain. Also called mathematico-deductive method.