nominalism

n. in medieval philosophy (see Scholasticism), the position that only concrete particulars have real substantial existence, while universals (i.e., general qualities, such as “redness” or “beauty”) are mere names with at most a mental existence. Compare Platonic idealism; realism. —nominalist n., adj.

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Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

all-possible-subsets regression

a method for predicting an outcome variable based on a series of equations formed by all possible subsets of predictors from a finite pool of predictors. The “best” subset is identified using criteria established by the researcher, such as the value of Akaike’s information criterion or of the coefficient of multiple determination. Also called all-possible-subsets multiple regression; setwise regression.