looming

n. a type of space perception in which the retinal image of an object is magnified as the object approaches the observer. Reactions to looming vary: Chicks run away, kittens avert their heads, monkeys leap backward while making alarm cries, and human infants attempt to withdraw their heads at 2 weeks and blink at 3 weeks.

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Psychology term of the day

January 18th 2025

consistent missing

in parapsychology experiments using Zener cards or similar targets, the phenomenon in which a participant’s “calls,” or guesses, are consistently wrong or significantly below chance expectations. Some people attribute such systematic failure to processing error or a conscious or nonconscious reluctance to confirm psychic ability. See also psi-missing.