incidental learning

learning that is not premeditated, deliberate, or intentional and that is acquired as a result of some other, possibly unrelated, mental activity. Some theorists believe that much learning takes place without any intention to learn, occurring incidentally to other cognitive processing of information. Also called nonintentional learning. See also latent learning. Compare intentional learning.

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Psychology term of the day

January 5th 2025

common region

a recently introduced gestalt principle of organization, stating that objects sharing a common bounded region of space appear to belong together and tend to be perceived as a distinct group. For example, animals in a fenced-in enclosure are more likely to be seen as a group than are the same distribution of animals arrayed in open space. Also called law of common region; principle of common region. [proposed in 1992 by U.S. psychologist Stephen E. Palmer (1948– )]