Glossary / Lexicon

Glossary M

M-space is a term in Pascual-Leone's theory that refers to a measure of mental capacity, reflecting how many concepts a child can keep in mind simultaneously.

M'Naghten rule refers to legal principle stating that, in order to claim a defense of insanity, accused persons must have been burdened by such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act they were doing or, if they did know it, that they did not know what they were doing what was wrong. M'Naghten rule is the oldest standard for determining the insanity of a defendant. This rule requires the defense to prove that at the time of the unlawful act, the defendant's reasoning was so impaired by "a disease of the mind" that he or she either did not appreciate what he or she was doing or did not comprehend that it was wrong.

Mach bands refers to the perception of a thin dark band on the dark side of a light–dark border and a thin light band on the light side of the border. These bands are an illusion because they occur even though corresponding intensity changes do not exist.

Machismo characterized or motivated by stereotypical masculine behavior or actions .

Macrophage is a type of lymphocyte that attacks invading organisms.

Macrosmatic means having a keen sense of smell that is important to an animal’s survival.

Macrosociological study is defined as a study of overall social arrangements, their structures, and their long-term effects.

Macrosystem is the larger cultural or sub-cultural context in which development occurs; the cultures and sub-cultures in which the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem are embedded. Macrosystem is, likewise, defined as the basic institutions and ideologies that influence the child, such as the American ideals of freedom of expression and equality under the law; the child’s society and the ideology in which he/she grows up, for example, the United States, the middle class, Spanish ancestry, the Roman Catholic church. It refers to consistencies in the form and content of lower order systems (micro-, meso-, and exosystems) that exist or could exist at the level of the sub-culture or the culture as a whole, along with any belief systems of ideology underlying such consistencies. Macrosystem is, moreover, Bronfenbrenner’s outermost environmental layer or context.