releaser

n. in ethology, a stimulus that, when presented under the proper conditions, initiates a fixed action pattern (see also modal action pattern). For example, a red belly on a male stickleback fish elicits aggressive behavior from other male sticklebacks but is attractive to gravid female sticklebacks. Also called sign stimulus. See also innate releasing mechanism; vacuum activity.

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Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

family romance

a common childhood fantasy in which a child imagines that he or she is the offspring not of his or her biological parents but of a noble or royal personage. Sigmund Freud saw this as rooted in the Oedipus complex. See foster-child fantasy.