eigenvalue

(symbol: λ) n. a numerical index, commonly used in factor analysis and principal components analysis, that indicates the portion of the total variance among several correlated variables that is accounted for by a more basic, underlying variable or construct. An eigenvalue may be computed as the sum of the squared factor loadings for all the variables. Eigenvalues are of central importance in linear algebra (i.e., matrix algebra).

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Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

distributional redundancy

in psychological aesthetics, the development of uncertainty in an artistic pattern by making some elements occur more frequently than others. Distributional redundancy is one of two kinds of internal restraint in pattern variation, the other being correlational redundancy, in which certain combinations of elements are made to occur more frequently than others.