leakage

n. the unintended revelation that a person has a feeling or motive different from the one intended to be communicated to others. It may be manifested, for example, by frequent speech pauses when a person describes an event untruthfully. See verbal leakage. See also deception clue.

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Psychology term of the day

January 3rd 2025

noncontingent reinforcement

the process or circumstances in which a stimulus known to be effective as a reinforcer is presented independently of any particular behavior. Because contingencies may arise by accident (see accidental reinforcement), behavior-independent presentation of stimuli cannot guarantee that no contingency exists between a response and the stimuli. See reinforcement.