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causal ambiguity

a situation in which it is not known which one (or which set) of several phenomena is the cause of a particular effect. Sometimes the ambiguity attaches to the more complex question of which phenomena are causes and which are effects (see reverse causality). Controlled empirical research is often used to resolve issues of causal ambiguity.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

social psychology

social psychology

as defined by Gordon W. Allport, the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by the actual, imagined, or symbolically represented presence of other people. Psychological social psychology differs from sociological social psychology in that the former tends to put greater emphasis on internal psychological processes, whereas the latter focuses on factors that affect social life, such as status, role, and class.