type–token distinction

in semantics and semiotics, the distinction between a general category of items having certain defining features (type) and a particular exemplar of that category (token). A token is taken to possess the essential properties of the type to which it belongs and will thus have a representative function. According to some theories, the type–token distinction plays an important role in semantic memory. [introduced by Charles S. Peirce]

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Psychology term of the day

January 26th 2025

congenital oculomotor apraxia

a condition, present at birth, in which a child is unable to fixate objects normally (see oculomotor apraxia). It is characterized by the absence of saccades and smooth-pursuit eye movements in the horizontal plane, but vertical eye movements are preserved: Children with this condition are often mistakenly thought to be blind. Between the ages of 4 and 6 months, they develop thrusting, horizontal head movements, sometimes blinking prominently or rubbing their eyelids when they attempt to change fixation. The cause of congenital oculomotor apraxia is unknown, but there is usually an improvement with age.