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performance goal

1. in the motivational theory of U.S. personality psychologist Carol S. Dweck (1946–  ), the goal of demonstrating to others who may be evaluating one’s performance that one possesses a particular ability or other attribute. This is in contrast to a learning goal, in which one aims to develop an ability or attribute.

2. a goal that is set in terms of a specific level of achievement, such as running a mile in 5 minutes 30 seconds. See also goal setting.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

best fit

best fit

the theoretical pattern that best accounts for the relationships among variables in a data set. For example, a regression equation having the best fit to sample data is the one that minimizes differences between observed and predicted values. On a scatterplot, a line of best fit provides a visual depiction of this pattern, allowing extrapolation to values not part of the original data set. It is important to note that the best-fitting pattern is not necessarily the one that generated the observed data, as other patterns not considered may provide a superior fit.