premise

n. a proposition forming part of a larger argument: a statement from which a further statement is to be deduced, especially as one of a series of such steps leading to a conclusion.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

vacuum activity

in classical ethology, the occurrence of a fixed action pattern in the absence of the usual external stimulus (the releaser, or sign stimulus) that triggers the pattern. This is believed to be caused by a build-up of action-specific or motivational energy that overrides the innate releasing mechanism. Also called vacuum response. [proposed by Konrad Lorenz]