curve fitting

any of various statistical techniques for obtaining a function that graphically represents a given set of data as closely as possible, with minimal error. A simple example of curve fitting occurs in linear regression, where a straight line function is said to provide the closest approximation to the expected values of the outcome with a specific predictor and have the fewest discrepancies between the predicted values and the actual, observed values.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

mental chemistry

a concept proposed by John Stuart Mill as an alternative to the mental mechanics described by his father, James Mill. The concept is modeled on a common phenomenon in physical chemistry, in which two chemical substances combine to form a compound with properties not present in either of the components. Similarly, Mill held that compound ideas were not merely combinations of simpler ideas but that they possessed other qualities not present in any of the constituent ideas. Thus, such an idea could be an essentially new one. See associationism; association of ideas.