tangentiality

n. a thought disturbance that is marked by oblique speech in which the person constantly digresses to irrelevant topics and fails to arrive at the main point. In extreme form, it is a manifestation of loosening of associations, a symptom frequently seen in schizophrenia or delirium. Compare circumstantiality.

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Psychology term of the day

January 20th 2025

three-mountains test

a Piagetian task used to assess visual perspective taking in children. A doll is placed at various locations around a three-dimensional display of three mountains, and children must indicate how the doll sees the display. Children younger than 8 years old have difficulty performing this test correctly, although they are able to understand that others have a visual perspective that is different from their own when less complicated tasks are used.