counterbalancing

n. arranging a series of experimental conditions or treatments in such a way as to minimize the influence of extraneous factors, such as practice or fatigue, on experimental results. In other words, counterbalancing is an attempt to reduce or avoid carryover effects and order effects. A simple form of counterbalancing would be to administer experimental conditions in the order A-B to half of the participants and in the order B-A to the other half; a Latin square would be a more complex form.

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Psychology term of the day

February 11th 2025

augmentation strategy

a mechanism to increase the effectiveness of pharmacological agents by the addition of other agents. Augmentation strategies are most commonly used in the treatment of depression.