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deviance

n.

1. any behavior that differs significantly from what is considered appropriate or typical for a social group. Also called deviancy.

2. in statistics, a measure of the goodness of fit between a smaller hierarchical model and a fuller model that has all of the same parameters plus more. If the deviance reveals a significant difference, then the larger model is needed. If the deviance is not significant, then the smaller, more parsimonious model is retained as more appropriate.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

distractibility

distractibility

n. difficulty in maintaining attention or a tendency to be easily diverted from the matter at hand. Excessive distractibility is frequently found in children with learning disorders or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and in people experiencing manic or hypomanic episodes.