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tend-and-befriend response

a proposed physiological and behavioral stress regulatory system that is an alternative to the classic fight-or-flight response and that is stronger in females than in males. Tending involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring, to promote a sense of safety, and to reduce distress, and befriending is expressed in the creation and maintenance of social networks that aid in this process. Neuroendocrinal evidence from research on both human and nonhuman animals suggests an underlying physiological mechanism mediated by oxytocin and moderated by female sex hormones and opioid peptide mechanisms. [proposed in 2000 by U.S. social psychologist Shelley E. Taylor (1946–  ) and colleagues]

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Psychology term of the day

November 18th 2024

skewness

skewness

n. the degree to which a set of scores, measurements, or other numbers are asymmetrically distributed around a central point. A normal frequency distribution of data is shaped like a bell, with equal values for each of its three indices of central tendency—the mean, the median, and the mode. Approximately 68% of the scores lie within 1 standard deviation of the mean and approximately 95% of the scores lie within 2 standard deviations of the mean. When a distribution has a few extreme scores toward the high end relative to the low end (e.g., when a test is difficult and few test takers do well), it has a positive skew (or is positively skewed), such that the mean is greater than the mode. When a distribution has a few extreme scores toward the low end relative to the high end (e.g., when a test is easy and most test takers do well), it has a negative skew (or is negatively skewed).