intoxication defense

a defense that a crime was committed by a person who was intoxicated, which has been used to challenge a charge of criminal responsibility. If the intoxicant was taken involuntarily, it can negate criminal responsibility altogether. If the intoxicant was taken voluntarily, it may serve as a mitigating factor in reducing the penalty imposed, or it may be used to argue against premeditation in a first-degree murder charge. See diminished capacity.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

psychonomic

adj. denoting an approach to psychology that emphasizes quantitative measurement, experimental control, and operational definitions, especially in the area of experimental, laboratory psychology. The word was coined to provide a name for the Psychonomic Society, which was created in 1959 by a number of experimental psychologists who were opposed to what they regarded as a swing in the American Psychological Association toward an emphasis on the mental health concerns of psychology. See experimental psychology.