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rule-governed behavior

any behavior that is influenced by verbal antecedents, such as following instructions (as when children clean their rooms because they are told to do so) or reacting to one’s own private thinking (as when an adult begins an exercise program after thinking “I need to lose weight”). The term does not refer to behavior that can be described by a rule. For example, rats’ behavior that adopts a win–stay, lose–shift strategy cannot be described as rule-governed. Also called verbally governed behavior. Compare contingency-governed behavior.

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Psychology term of the day

October 15th 2024

sorting test

sorting test

a format for assessing the ability to conceptualize, often used in adult neuropsychological assessments or in determining a child’s level of cognitive development. The participant is asked to arrange an assortment of common objects by category. A common example is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.