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causal ordering

1. the principle that causes must temporally precede their effects, and never vice versa. See also false cause; reverse causality.

2. in path analysis and similar statistical procedures, the categorizing of causal variables as either more or less direct.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

anal eroticism

anal eroticism

in psychoanalytic theory, pleasurable sensations associated with expulsion, retention, or observation of the feces or through stimulation of the anus. These sensations first arise in the anal stage of psychosexual development, between the ages of 1 and 3. Also called anal erotism. See also anal personality; coprophilia.