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.

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Psychology term of the day

January 21st 2025

reciprocal relationship

1. a correlation between two variables such that the value of one variable is the reciprocal of the value of the other. For example, if a researcher is studying the average time taken to complete a task, then tasks completed per unit time (e.g., 2 per hour) have a reciprocal relationship with unit time taken per task (0.5 hours).

2. the situation in which two variables can mutually influence one another; that is, each can be both a cause and an effect.