FIXED-ACTION PATTERN (FAP)
Classical ethology. It is a stereotyped and genetically preprogrammed, species-specific behavioral sequence that is evoked by a particular stimulus and…
FLESCH INDEX
the name of a system used to evaluate the readability and reading level of a document. Words and sentences are…
FLIGHT OF IDEAS
a disturbance in the thinking processes that is a rapid and continuous succession of ideas that are related. It can…
FLUCTUATION OF PERCEPTION
the tendency for perception to alternate between competing stimuli that cannot be integrated or synthesized with each other. See bi-stable…
FLYNN EFFECT
name of the gradual rise in IQ levels since records were started. The average is the same but the raw…
FOREIGNER TALK
the term applied to the way some people will talk to a foreigner. They will use short sentences, simple grammar…
FORM DISTORTION
a term that describes the change of an image that results from the optical qualities of the eye or an…
FORMATIVE TENDENCY
the term that is applied to the general drive toward self- improvement, growth that was hypothesized by Carl Rogers in…
FOSSILIZATION
a term in second language acquisition where the person's skills fall short of attaining native proficiency in the language. See…
FRACTIONATION
the name that is given to the psychophysical procedure used to scale the magnitudes of a sensation. A person might…
FREE FIELD
Acoustics. the term given to the sound field that does not have any reflective boundaries.
FREE-FLOATING ATTENTION
Found in psychoanalysis and in other forms of psychodynamic psychotherapy, the analyst's or therapist's state of evenly suspended attention during…
FREQUENCY JUDGMENT
the term used for the person's judgement of how many times a stimulus is presented during a test. See word…
FROTTEURISM
a paraphilia where a person will deliberately and persistently seek sexual excitement by rubbing against other people. May occur as…