categorical scale

a sequence of numbers that identifies items as belonging to mutually exclusive categories. For example, a categorical scale for the political party affiliation of a group of Americans might use 1 to denote Republican, 2 to denote Democrat, and 3 to denote Independent. When the number sequence has a meaningful order a categorical scale is more precisely called an ordinal scale; when it is devoid of such meaningful order it is known as a nominal scale.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

health professional

an individual who has received advanced training or education in a health-related field, such as direct patient care, administration, or ancillary services.