effect coding

in regression analysis, a procedure in which values of 1 or −1 are assigned to represent the categories of a dichotomous variable (or 1, 0, and −1 for a trichotomous variable). The results obtained for the group indicated by values of 1 are then interpreted relative to the larger group comprising all participants. For example, a researcher could assign values of 1 to individuals in an experimental group and values of −1 to those in a control group. He or she could conclude that there is a treatment effect if the experimental group has a mean different from the grand mean across all of the individuals. Compare contrast coding; dummy variable coding.

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Psychology term of the day

November 25th 2024

cause

1. an event or state that brings about another (its effect).

2. in Aristotelian and rationalist philosophy, an entity or event that is a requirement for another entity or event’s coming to be. Aristotle proposed that there were four types of cause—material, formal, efficient, and final. In the case of a sculpture, for example, the material cause is the stone or metal from which it is made, the formal cause is the form or structure that it takes, the efficient cause is the sculptor, and the final cause is the sculptor’s aim or purpose in making it. —causal adj.