Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


visual–spatial ability

the ability to comprehend and conceptualize visual representations and spatial relationships in learning and in the performance of tasks such as reading maps, navigating mazes, conceptualizing objects in space from different perspectives, and executing various geometric operations. Beginning in adolescence, males, on average, show a definite superiority in certain aspects of visual–spatial ability, whereas females, on average, display superiority in certain aspects of verbal ability.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

script

script

n.

1. a cognitive schematic structure—a mental road map—containing the basic actions (and their temporal and causal relations) that comprise a complex action. Also called script schema.

2. a structured representation consisting of a sequence of conceptual dependencies grouped together to capture the semantic relationships implicit in everyday human situations. It was designed for the purpose of computer-based story understanding. [created in 1966 by U.S. cognitive and computer scientist Roger C. Schank (1946–  ) and U.S. psychologist Robert P. Abelson (1928–2005)]

3. see prescription drug.

4. see script analysis.