verbal thought

a reasoning process that requires language and thus represents the merging of language and thought. Children first use language to guide thought by speaking out loud; only later does speech go underground to become covert verbal thought. See egocentric speech; inner language. [proposed by Lev Vygotsky]

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Psychology term of the day

January 11th 2025

dose–response relationship

a principle relating the potency of a drug to the efficacy of that drug in affecting a target symptom or organ system. Potency refers to the amount of a drug necessary to produce the desired effect; efficacy refers to the drug’s ability to act at a target receptor or organ to produce the desired effect. Dose–response curves may be graded, suggesting a continuous relationship between dose and effect, or quantal, wherein the desired effect is an either–or phenomenon, such as prevention of arrhythmias. There is considerable variability among individuals in response to a given dose of a particular drug.