pseudohermaphroditism

n. a congenital abnormality in which one or more contradictions exist in the morphological criteria of sex characteristics. In female pseudohermaphroditism, the individual is a genetic and gonadal female with partial masculinization, such as an enlarged clitoris resembling a penis and labia majora resembling a scrotum. In male pseudohermaphroditism, the individual is a genetic and gonadal male with incomplete masculinization, including a small penis, perineal hypospadias, and a scrotum that lacks testes. —pseudohermaphrodite n.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

confluence model

a controversial theory that intelligence of siblings is correlated with family size. According to this model, average intelligence generally declines as the number of children in a family increases. Intelligence is also held to decline with birth order. The one exception is an only child, whose intelligence suffers because he or she does not have an older sibling to serve as a teacher. However, many variables (e.g., spacing of children) could affect and reverse such generalizations. [proposed in 1975 by Robert B. Zajonc and Greg Markus]