main effect

the consistent total effect of a single independent variable on a dependent variable over all other independent variables in an experimental design. It is distinct from, but may be obscured by, an interaction effect between variables.

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Psychology term of the day

December 27th 2024

self-organizing system

any system whose elements spontaneously interact in such a way as to create a higher level structure as a result of their intrinsic properties. Many biological molecules show spontaneous self-organization, but purely physical systems do so as well, as in phase changes in water at different temperatures.