social convention

any of various established rules, methods, procedures, and practices that have been accepted as guides for social conduct over a relatively long period. Often unwritten, arbitrary, and self-perpetuating, social conventions usually pertain to relatively mundane aspects of society, such as etiquette, social ceremonies, and decorum. See also social norm.

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

discontinuity hypothesis

in Gestalt psychology, the viewpoint that emphasizes the role of sudden insight and perceptual reorganization in successful discrimination learning and problem solving. According to this view, a correct answer is only recognized when its relation to the issue as a whole is discovered. Also called discontinuity theory. Compare continuity hypothesis. See also aha experience; all-or-none learning; eureka task.