1. a school of psychology based on research dealing solely with the outwardly observed and fixed manifestations and reactions of the human being. It is credited to Vladimir M. Bekhterev, who taught that all behavior could be constructed from simple reflexes as the elementary units or building blocks.

2. the physiological study of involuntary automatic responses to stimuli, particularly as they affect the behavior of humans and other animals.

3. a form of complementary and alternative medicine based on the principle that there are reflex points or zones in the feet and hands that correspond to every part of the body and that manipulating and pressing on these points has beneficial health effects. —reflexologist n.