Editorial policy
Our aim is to make the reference understandable, traceable, and open to correction.
Sources and attribution
Research claims should link to the original study or an appropriate scholarly review. Textbooks and standards documents provide background where relevant. A source must support the claim beside it; a citation alone does not validate a proposed term.
Evidence and terminology
Entries use the public status labels. We distinguish a finding from an interpretation, and a hypothetical example from an observed result. Where an established term fits, it takes priority over new language.
Review status
The site is an independent editorial reference. It has not completed a formal external expert review. Reviewer fields state that limitation. Future review credits should identify the reviewer, their expertise, and the scope of the review.
AI-assisted editing
The September 2026 revision used GPT-6 Astra to help rewrite explanations and improve the site. AI assistance is not peer review and does not establish the accuracy of a claim. Readers should follow research links and report errors they find.
Corrections and contributions
Send corrections through the contact page. Include the page URL, the issue, and any supporting source. Contributions are assessed for clarity, relevance, and evidence; submitting a suggestion does not guarantee publication.
Conflicts of interest
Contributors and reviewers should disclose interests that could affect their assessment, including financial, professional, or advocacy relationships.
Forum participation and editorial acceptance
Forum posts are user-generated discussion. Posting does not constitute editorial acceptance, project endorsement, or inclusion in the canonical reference. Participation is not formal academic peer review. Discussions may lead to editorial review; accepted changes must still meet the project’s methodology and sourcing standards. Criticism and contrary evidence are welcome.
Revision record
September 27, 2026 · Version 1.5: Added the research forum and collaboration links, with forum account, privacy, contribution, and moderation policies. Existing research claims and definitions are unchanged.
September 27, 2026 · Version 1.4: Added citations beside definitions and research summaries, separate evidence assessments, detailed study tables, ranked search, glossary filters, a beginner reading route, mobile contents navigation, copyable citations, direct correction links, and print and accessibility improvements.
Research correction: Clarified the Murphy et al. (2025) summary. Its reported memory effects differed across formats; nonsignificant political differences at follow-up do not establish the absence of small persistent effects. Updated the research guide, FAQ, bibliography note, and study summaries accordingly.
- September 26, 2026 · Version 1.3: Expanded the main synthetic imprinting guide; added 40–70 word opening definitions and retained revision histories to all 51 term pages; clarified glossary, evidence-label, and topic-map navigation; added related-term cards, source context, article metadata, and the editorial project profile.
- September 25, 2026 · Version 1.2.2: Replaced the contact and collaboration forms with a direct email display and updated the privacy information to match.
- September 25, 2026 · Version 1.2.1: Added the site icon, browser favicons, and home-screen icons.
- September 24, 2026 · Version 1.2: Expanded the glossary from 21 to 51 terms with definitions, examples, evidence limits, and 27 additional sources. Connected the new entries through the topic map, related-term links, and site search.
- September 24, 2026 · Version 1.1: Rewrote explanations in plain language, aligned short definitions, clarified hypothetical examples, corrected author credits for the virtual-reality and political-deepfake studies, and added reference sources for media literacy, conditioning, and provenance.
- August 19, 2026 · Version 1.0: Initial reference, glossary, comparison guides, and bibliography.
Glossary entries show their own update dates. An update date records an editorial change; it does not imply that an external expert has reviewed the page or that every cited study is new.