nominal

adj. denoting a number that indicates membership in a category, such as coding political party affiliations with a 0 for Democrat, a 1 for Republican, and a 2 for Independent. A nominal value is not an indication of rank order or magnitude. Compare cardinal; ordinal.

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Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

separation–individuation

n. a developmental phase in which the infant gradually differentiates himself or herself from the mother, develops awareness of his or her separate identity, and attains relatively autonomous status. [defined by Hungarian-born U.S. child psychoanalyst Margaret Schönberger Mahler (1897–1985)]