binomial distribution

the probability distribution for each possible sequence of outcomes on a variable that has only two possible outcomes, with the likeliness of obtaining each outcome remaining constant. For example, a binomial distribution of the results of trying to predict the outcomes of 10 coin tosses would display the probability of observing each possible set of results, including one success and nine failures, two successes and eight failures, and so forth. This distribution is often denoted by b(n,θ).

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Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

verbal deprivation hypothesis

the hypothesis that children who are denied regular experience of an elaborated code of language—that is, a more formal use of language involving complex constructions and an unpredictable vocabulary—may develop an educational and even cognitive deficit. The concept is controversial as it has been associated with the view that nonstandard or vernacular forms of a language (e.g., Black English) are inherently inferior. The idea that nonstandard forms inhibit higher level cognitive processes (e.g., abstract reasoning) is now discredited, but concerns remain that lack of early exposure to the more formal codes of a language appears to correlate with educational underachievement. [proposed in 1973 by British sociologist Basil Bernstein (1924–2000)]