sexism

n. discriminatory and prejudicial beliefs and practices directed against one of the two sexes, usually women. Sexism is associated with acceptance of sex-role stereotypes and can occur at multiple levels: individual, organizational, institutional, and cultural. It may be overt, involving the open endorsement of sexist beliefs or attitudes; covert, involving the tendency to hide sexist beliefs or attitudes and reveal them only when it is believed that one will not suffer publicly for them; or subtle, involving unequal treatment that may not be noticed because it is part of everyday behavior or perceived to be unimportance. See also prejudice; sex discrimination. —sexist adj.

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Psychology term of the day

January 21st 2025

equal loudness contour

the function relating decibels sound-pressure level (dB SPL) to frequency for pure tones that have a loudness equal to that of a 1-kHz tone at a fixed level. For example, a 100 Hz tone presented at 70 dB SPL is as loud as a 1 kHz tone presented at 60 dB SPL. This is a point on the equal loudness contour for a 60-phon reference. This function has been incorporated in audio circuitry as “loudness compensation,” primarily in an attempt to correct for the decreased loudness of low frequencies when listening at low levels. See loudness.