V

Values Mandala: an NLP-based exercise for getting to people's core values. The structure of the exercise - which works with the Unconscious Mind - makes it extremely difficult to respond logically to the questions. Thus, it is an effective exercise for getting to deep personal issues in situations where people are likely to be influenced by social desirability bias.

Variable: something which varies or changes.
In psychological experiments, the experimenter manipulates changes in one variable - the independent variable - to observe if that manipulation causes changes in another variable - the dependent variable. Eg: the learning environment (quiet or full of distractions) - the independent variable - will affect the ability to recall the learning - the dependent variable.
Other variables which may also effect a change in the dependent variable are referred to as extraneous variables. If they are not controlled - ie: prevented from influencing the dependent variable - an extraneous variable can become a confounding variable. In other words, it confounds the experimenter attributing change in the dependent variable to change in the independent variable - ie: cause and effect.
Where two or more variables change together but it is not possible to say change in one clearly causes change in the other(s), then they are known as covariables. Eg: revision and exam success vary together but it is not possible to say that the amount of revision done will affect precisely the degree of exam success as many other variables - intelligence, understanding, motivation, etc, etc - will also influence performance in exams.

Ventrial Stratum: a forward part of the basil ganglia, it receives input from cortical areas other than the motor and sensory areas of the Frontal and Parietal lobes, including the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortical areas.

Ventricles: generally, any cavity in an organ. The brain has 4 cavities. The 2 large lateral ventricles are in the hemispheres of the cerebrum and connect with the third ventricle which communicates with the fourth. The ventricular system is filled with cerebrospinal fluids.

Vicarious Learning: where someone learns from watching another being rewarded or punished for their behaviour and then models the behaviour which is rewarded. Vicarious Learning is the core process in Social Learning Theory.

Vital Signs Monitor: a concept developed by Don Beck for monitoring the patterns and health of cultural vMEMES in a given geographical area. Beck favours the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) - computerised mapping - which enables multiple overlays of data relating to vMEME activity onto a map.

vMEME: short for 'value system meme', the term used in Spiral Dynamics for the motivational systems identified by Clare W Graves. The term was coined by Don Beck & Chris Cowan to link Graves' work to Memetics. vMEMES can be thought of as bio-chemical neurological systems. Although Neuroscience has yet to identify formally systems in the brain which would match the different vMEMES, Jerry Coursen has speculated that the systems which comprise PURPLE and RED are rooted primarily in the amygdala. From Coursen's ideas, it seems likely that the BLUE and ORANGE systems would be centred for the most part in the frontal cortex area.

vMEME Harmonic: when the needs and desires of two or more vMEMES are perceived as complementary.

vMEME Stack: the pattern of vMEME dominance in a person's life - for example, someone might be a little BLUE in their relationship with their parents but very RED on the sports field.

vMEME Transition Stage: where the influence of one vMEME is being replaced by the next one up (or down) the Spiral. Each transition state can have an exiting stage - eg: Exiting C-P RED (annotated as C-P RED/d-q blue) - and an entering stage - eg: Entering D-Q BLUE (annotated as c-p red/D-Q BLUE).

vMEME War: when the needs and desires of two or more vMEMES  are perceived as being in conflict.