negative priming

the ability of a preceding stimulus to inhibit the response to a subsequent stimulus. This is measured by the detectability of the second stimulus or the time taken to make a response to the second stimulus. The most striking examples occur when the participant is instructed to ignore a feature of the first stimulus (e.g., its color) and then to attend to that same feature in the second stimulus. Priming effects are usually facilitative.

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Psychology term of the day

January 30th 2025

functional communication training

a behavior therapy technique used with children and adults diagnosed with developmental impairments, such as autism or intellectual disability, who are exhibiting aggressive, self-injurious, or highly disruptive behavior. The technique assesses the function that the negative behavior serves and uses positive reinforcement to replace it with more appropriately adaptive communication or behavior that meets the same need.