stereotypy

American  

[ster-ee-uh-tahy-pee, steer-] / ˈstɛr i əˌtaɪ pi, ˈstɪər- /

noun

1. the stereotype process.

2. Also called stereotyped behavior.  Psychiatry. persistent mechanical repetition of speech or movement, sometimes occurring as a symptom of schizophrenia, autism, or other mental disorder.

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stereotypy British  

/ ˈstɪər-, ˈstɛrɪəˌtaɪpɪ /

noun

1. the act or process of making stereotype printing plates

2. a tendency to think or act in rigid, repetitive, and often meaningless patterns

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Etymology

Origin of stereotypy

First recorded in 1860–65; stereotype + -y ³

Example Sentences

At first blush, such spinning might look like a stereotypy, a repeated movement that some animals make when bored.

From Scientific American • Mar. 28, 2023

For example, one macaque developed "severe behavioural problems" including "stereotypy" - repetitive nervous actions such as rocking - and had to be "euthanised".

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2014

Virga knew that he wasn’t likely to cure her — she had been prone to stereotypy and anxiety throughout her life.

From New York Times • Jul. 3, 2014

Farts lack the structural stereotypy of laughs, coughs, sneezes, and hiccups, and their duration is determined by the highly variable supply of available gas.

From Salon • Aug. 23, 2012

In case of stereotypy in all three responses, we should have to score the total response failure even though the idea employed happened to fit all three parts of the question.

From The Measurement of Intelligence An Explanation of and a Complete Guide for the Use of the Stanford Revision and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale by Cubberley, Ellwood Patterson