orthogenicadj.

1896 Science 27 Nov. 789/1 In the latter case we have a valid explanation of orthogenic, determinate or definite variation, so far as a very large class of characters are concerned.

1901 L. T. Hobhouse Mind in Evol. i. 5 Evolution ‘upwards’—Orthogenic or, as it has been called, Aristogenic Evolution—is the growth of Mind, or of conditions which make Mind possible.

1928 A. A. Roback Psychol. of Char. (ed. 2) xxx. 518 No one..can foresee what might be thought right a thousand years hence, but the man of vision will be able to sense the direction which reason is bound to follow; for its course is orthogenic.

1994 K. Kelly Out of Control xxi. 410 Orthogenic (straight) life advanced in a direct line, from organism A through the alphabet of life to organism Z.

1912 J. E. W. Wallin in Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 9 291 We are beginning to appreciate..the extent of the retarding effect upon mental growth of such physical anomalies as adenoids, hypertrophied tonsils, nasal obstructions, defective ears, eyes, and mouths; but no one has attempted to determine experimentally the precise orthogenic effects which are believed to ensue from a definite course of combined prophylactic and operative treatment.

1926 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 31 802 Witmer..describes in detail the successful treatment (in an orthogenic school) of a boy who at two and a half was diagnosed as feeble-minded by two competent experts.

1978 J. F. Ohles Biogr. Dict. Amer. Educators I. 124 The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School.., a resident school established to serve severely disturbed children with exceptional intellectual ability.

1997 R. Porter Greatest Benefit to Mankind vii. 156 Therapy combines two aspects: it eliminates the pathogenic qi and counters its effects, while building up the orthogenic qi which constitutes the body's defences.