rating scale

an instrument that is used to assign scores to people or items along some numerical dimension, such as agreement with an attitude statement or frequency of occurrence. Rating scales can be classified according to the number of points along the dimension that is being assessed (e.g., a 5-point scale, 7-point scale) and the way in which the response labels are ordered along the dimension. See bipolar rating scale; Likert scale; semantic differential.

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Psychology term of the day

January 14th 2025

despair

1. the emotion or feeling of hopelessness, that is, that things are profoundly wrong and will not change for the better. Despair is one of the most negative and destructive of human affects, and as such it is a primary area for psychotherapeutic intervention.

2. in Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, see integrity versus despair.