Norms are directives or imperatives dealing with obligations and necessity in action and thought (i.e., ‘what has to be done’ and ‘what has to be’. They are manifest as rules, commands/obligations, and technical directives. Their formation includes acquisition, constitution, and development. See Command paper (education), Moral development, Moral judgments, Normative facts, Obligation, Rule
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Normative facts
Imperative rules whose origin is in social interactions of all kinds, and which act causally, in their turn, in the context of individual interactions (Piaget, 1995). Although a norm is not a fact – indeed the naturalistic fallacy is committed by deriving a norm from facts alone – normative facts are fact. See Normative, Rule
Normality
In general, it is somewhat easier to pinpoint the meaning of ‘abnormality’ than ‘normality’. Ever since the time of the Ancient Greeks, the meaning of normality has undergone a variety of different interpretations. Contemporary approaches to the concept do not attempt to provide a monolithic definition, but rather articulate a number of interrelated meanings. One …
Noradrenergic neurotransmitter system
A system in the brain using the neurotransmitter noradrenaline (norepinephrine) that is based in the mesencephalic reticular activating system and which distributes noradrenaline throughout the brain. This system has a widespread energising influence on brain activity and is closely tied to sustained attention and alerting. See Acetylcholine (AcH), Catecholamines, Entorhinal cortex, Epinephrine (or adrenaline), Inhibitory …
Norephinephrine (or noradrenaline)
A hormone produced by the adrenal medulla, similar in chemical and pharmacological properties to epinephrine (also a hormone secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system). Norephinephrine and epinephrine are the two active hormones that cause some of the physiological expressions of fear and anxiety, and have been found …
Non-univocality principle
An unequivocal relationship between impulses and movements does not and cannot exist (i.e., the relationship between neural impulses and resulting movement is not one-to-one, but many-to-many). See Coordinative structure, Equifinality, Degrees of freedom (or Bernstein’s) problem
Non-shared environmental influences
Environmental influences that are individually specific (i.e., the effects are not shared by family members). The distinction between shared environment and non-shared environment is not always clear. For example, does a peer group constitute a shared environment, or do peer groups differ influences between members of the same family such that an individual selects a …
Non-structural growth model
A non-parametric model for mathematically fitting longitudinal growth data for individuals. Non-structural models (e.g., polynomial, kernel regression, cubic splines) do not assume an apriori functional form of the growth curve. The model has been applied to measures of growth and physical performance such as the adolescent growth spurt. See Adolescent growth spurt, Structural growth …
Non-linear dynamics
A particular kind of dynamical system described by a differential equation (or iterative map) in which the rate of change depends non-linearly on the current state of the system. Only non-linear dynamics may exhibit instabilities, multi-stability, or generate non-constant attractors such as oscillations or chaos. See Attractor, Catastrophe theory, Chaos, Chaos theory, Complex system, Complexity, …
Non-linear associator
A system that associates a number of inputs with a number of outputs in a non-linear way. This could mean that, for example, inputs that are only slightly different are associated with outputs that are very different, and vice versa. In neural network models, non-linearity is achieved by the non-linear activation function of the processing …