frequency distribution

a tabular representation of the number of times a specific value or datum point occurs. The left column lists the different categories of a categorical variable or scores of a continuous variable, and the right column lists the number of occurrences of each. When a frequency distribution is plotted on a graph, it is often called a frequency curve, frequency diagram, or frequency polygon. When represented mathematically via an equation, it is called a frequency function. Also called frequency table. See also cumulative frequency distribution; relative frequency distribution.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

regression in the service of the ego

in psychoanalytic theory, the adaptive circumvention of normal ego functioning in order to access primitive material (see primary process), often associated with the creative process. [first described by Swiss-born U.S. psychoanalyst Ernst Kris (1900–1957)]