four-fifths rule

an arbitrary rule of thumb for determining a prima facie case of discrimination, as set forth in the Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection Procedures. If the employer hires a protected group (e.g., an ethnic minority, women) at a rate that is less than four fifths the rate at which the majority group (i.e., White males) is hired, the company must justify its hiring procedures by showing that they are job-related or of business necessity. If justification cannot be provided, the employer may be open to a charge of violating civil rights laws. See also adverse impact; affirmative action; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; equal opportunity.

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Psychology term of the day

February 24th 2025

crossover design

a study in which different treatments are applied to the same individuals but in different sequences. In the most basic crossover design, a group of participants receives Treatment A followed by Treatment B whereas a second group receives Treatment B followed by Treatment A. For example, a researcher could use such a design to assess the effect of attending a day service on stroke survivors, randomly assigning participants to one of two groups, the first of which would attend the service for 6 months and then not attend for 6 months, and the second of which would not attend the service for 6 months and then would attend for 6 months. As with within-subjects designs, the benefit of this design is the reduction in error variance. Also called crossover study; crossover trial. Compare parallel-groups design. See also Graeco-Latin square; Latin square.