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truth serum

a colloquial name for drugs, especially the barbiturates amobarbital, pentobarbital, and thiopental, that are injected intravenously in mild doses to help elicit information by inducing a relaxed, semihypnotic state in which an individual is less inhibited and more communicative. The term is derived from the reported use of such drugs by police to extract confessions from suspects.

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Psychology term of the day

November 23rd 2024

moral development

moral development

the gradual formation of an individual’s concepts of right and wrong, conscience, ethical and religious values, social attitudes, and behavior. Some of the major theorists in the area of moral development are Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Lawrence Kohlberg.