passive voice

in linguistics, the category of a verb used when the patient of the action appears as the grammatical subject of the clause or sentence and the agent appears as the grammatical object. The passive voice, which is much less common than the standard active voice, is illustrated by the sentence The purse was stolen by the thief, as opposed to The thief stole the purse.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

psychoneuromuscular theory

a theory postulating how the use of mental imagery of an activity can improve the subsequent motor performance of that activity. It states that, during the processing of imagery, the brain sends impulses to the muscles. These impulses are identical to those that cause muscle contraction with movement but are of lower intensity. The neural pathways are thereby strengthened, facilitating the learning and performance of motor skills. Also called ideomotor principle. See also mental practice. [originally proposed in 1874 by British physiologist William Benjamin Carpenter (1813–1885)]