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input–output mechanism

a simple model of information processing in which a given input automatically produces a given output. An input–output mechanism is a closed system in which information is subjected to a fixed sequence of preset operations and there is no interaction with the environment during throughput. Some behaviorist theories have been criticized as reducing the human organism to an input–output mechanism.

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Psychology term of the day

January 31st 2025

self-monitoring observation

self-monitoring observation

self-tracking of one’s behaviors, attitudes, or emotions over time. In research studies and clinical interventions focused on weight loss, for example, participants are encouraged to keep track of their eating patterns, their feelings related to their eating, and triggers for not maintaining their diet. This enables a clinician or researcher to review periods when the participant is outside the clinical setting or laboratory. Compare analogue observation; naturalistic observation.