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Henning’s odor prism

a prism-shaped graphic representation of six primary odors and their relationships. Burnt, spicy, resinous, foul, fruity, and flowery are the primary odors that occupy the corners of the prism, and each surface represents the positions of odors that are similar to the primaries at the corners of that surface. Also called Henning’s smell prism. [Hans Henning (1885–1946), German psychologist]

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

mental chemistry

mental chemistry

a concept proposed by John Stuart Mill as an alternative to the mental mechanics described by his father, James Mill. The concept is modeled on a common phenomenon in physical chemistry, in which two chemical substances combine to form a compound with properties not present in either of the components. Similarly, Mill held that compound ideas were not merely combinations of simpler ideas but that they possessed other qualities not present in any of the constituent ideas. Thus, such an idea could be an essentially new one. See associationism; association of ideas.