fingerspelling

n. the representation of the letters of the alphabet by shapes formed with the hand. Fingerspelling is used in conjunction with sign language to spell names and other words for which conventional signs do not exist. Many different manual alphabets are available, including the one-handed American Manual Alphabet, which is used in the United States and Canada, and the two-handed British Manual Alphabet, used in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, each specifying distinct shapes for the different letters.

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Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

confluence model

a controversial theory that intelligence of siblings is correlated with family size. According to this model, average intelligence generally declines as the number of children in a family increases. Intelligence is also held to decline with birth order. The one exception is an only child, whose intelligence suffers because he or she does not have an older sibling to serve as a teacher. However, many variables (e.g., spacing of children) could affect and reverse such generalizations. [proposed in 1975 by Robert B. Zajonc and Greg Markus]