dummy variable

1. in regression analysis, a numerical variable that is created to represent a qualitative fact, which is done by giving a variable a value of 1 or 0 to indicate the presence or absence of a categorical trait. A dummy variable usually represents a dichotomous variable, that is, one that can have only two categories. For example, gender could be coded as a 1 to represent female and a 0 to represent male. When a measure has more than two categories, a researcher creates k − 1 dummy variables to represent the total number of different categories, k, with one of the categories indicated by 0.

2. in mathematics and computer science, a variable that can stand for or be bound to any element from its domain. Also called indicator variable.

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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.