homology

n. a similarity of form in bodily structures of species that are descended from a common ancestor, such as the resemblance among forelimbs of vertebrates. Compare homoplasy. See also analogy. —homologous adj.

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Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

ambiguous figure

a visual stimulus that can be interpreted in more than one way, such as an embedded figure or a reversible figure. A well-known example is the young girl–old woman image, in which the black-and-white drawing sometimes appears to be of a young girl and sometimes of an old lady. This phenomenon is not restricted to the visual: An ambiguous stimulus is one of any sensory modality that can have multiple interpretations.