Wald–Wolfowitz test

a nonparametric test of the null hypothesis that two samples have been taken from identical populations, based on whether the number of runs or sequences in an ordering is random. For instance, consider the following ordering of males (M) and females (F) from 1 to 27 according to their performance on a task:
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.
In this data set, there are nine runs. If the two samples are from the same population, then the males and females will be well mixed and the number of runs thus will be large (e.g., close to 25); if the number of runs is small, as in this example, the ordering cannot be caused by chance fluctuation and the null hypothesis thus is rejected. Also called runs test. [Abraham Wald (1902–1950), Hungarian-born mathematician; Jacob Wolfowitz (1910–1981), U.S. psychologist]

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Psychology term of the day

September 1st 2024

transfer function model

1. a model used in functional magnetic resonance imaging to describe the shape of responses. A neuron receives a number of inputs, each of which comes via a connection that has a strength or weight; these weights correspond to the synaptic efficacy of the neuron. Each neuron also has a single threshold value. Activation of the neuron is determined by the weighted sum of the inputs minus the threshold. The activation signal is passed through a transfer function to produce the output of the neuron.

2. in time-series analysis, a type of model used to forecast a time series that is influenced by present and past values of other time series.