forced treatment

therapy administered without the informed consent of the recipient, such as to an individual with a mental disorder. Forced treatment may include court-ordered administration of psychoactive drugs to a person to restore his or her competency to stand trial or the involuntary hospitalization of a person considered dangerous to himself or herself or others. Many question the ethical acceptability of the practice, citing its infringement of autonomy and the right to refuse treatment and its lack of scientifically demonstrated effectiveness; such controversy has intensified in recent decades. Also called coercive treatment; involuntary treatment.

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Psychology term of the day

November 23rd 2024

theoretical probability

the mathematical likelihood of a particular event occurring, as determined by dividing the number of positive outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes. For example, when flipping a coin, the theoretical probability that a tail will occur is 1 divided by 2 (the number of possible outcomes), giving a probability of .5 or 50%.