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family study

research conducted among siblings, parents, or children to assess evidence for genetic links for characteristics or outcomes, often related to health or disease. For example, a family study might be conducted to assess whether individuals from the same family who share a similar genetic structure also have similar responses to a health-promotion intervention such as diet, exercise, or medication. The extent to which performance on a given measure varies as a function of genetic similarity is used as an indication of the heritability of that measure.

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Psychology term of the day

March 17th 2025

nominal data

nominal data

numerical values that represent membership in specific categories. For example, the category male could be labeled 0 and the category female labeled 1, with each person in the population of interest (e.g., a particular town) assigned the number corresponding to their sex. Nominal data are similar to categorical data, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.