generalization
the act or process of generalizing.
a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle.
Logic.
a proposition asserting something to be true either of all members of a certain class or of an indefinite part of that class.
the process of obtaining such propositions.
Psychology.
Also called stimulus generalization. the act or process of responding to a stimulus similar to but distinct from the conditioned stimulus.
Also called response generalization. the act or process of making a different but similar response to the same stimulus.
Also called mediated generalization. the act or process of responding to a stimulus not physically similar to the conditioned stimulus and not previously encountered in conditioning.
the act or process of perceiving similarity or relation between different stimuli, as between words, colors, sounds, lights, concepts or feelings; the formation of a general notion.
Origin of generalization
1Words that may be confused with generalization
- deduction, extrapolation, induction, generalization , hypothesis
Words Nearby generalization
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use generalization in a sentence
That’s a risky generalization, but Steele and his colleagues point to some other hints in the literature to suggest that this may be a common occurrence.
The Data Behind a Once-a-Week Strength Routine | Alex Hutchinson | February 2, 2021 | Outside OnlineThat assumption was based on several generalizations about the inner solar system’s evolution.
Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows | Robin George Andrews | February 1, 2021 | Quanta MagazineWhile it’s human nature and good data science to find and define patterns in a heap of customer data, too much categorization results in broad generalizations that may overlook important behaviors and perspectives.
Take your campaigns to deeper levels by disrupting the peace | Max Braun | December 24, 2020 | Search Engine WatchThere are likely many more impressive examples of generalization and creativity within the rest of the animal kingdom—of which we are of course a part.
Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV - Issue 93: Forerunners | Adithya Rajagopalan | December 2, 2020 | NautilusHe calls his scheme the “double simplex” representation, because the left-handed and right-handed particles of nature each form a simplex — a generalization of a triangle.
A New Map of All the Particles and Forces | Natalie Wolchover, Samuel Velasco and Lucy Reading-Ikkanda | October 22, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
Glassdoor is comfortable making generalization about firms based on a sample size of 20 reviews.
If Cosi Wants to Make a Profit, It Needs to Increase Wages | Daniel Gross | August 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is not just a psychological generalization, but a kind of existential point.
Why Favoritism Is Virtuous: The Case Against Fairness | Stephen T. Asma | December 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTI had some people come up to me after and talk to me—‘Oh, I disagreed with that,’ ‘I thought that was a generalization.’
‘Two and a Half Men’ Co-Creator Lee Aronsohn’s Female-Comedy Rant | Tricia Romano | April 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTQuite frankly, your generalization (one of many) that no 15-year-old is capable of writing as I did is false.
“It makes me so sad when people say print is dead because it's such an unfair generalization of where things are,” he said.
The number of cases in E. Mitior is too limited to warrant further generalization.
A Statistical Inquiry Into the Nature and Treatment of Epilepsy | Alexander Hughes BennettIt will not do to lay great emphasis on minute details, and neglect the art of generalization.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordBut this very paradox leads to the real principle of generalization concerning the properties of numbers.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart MillThe former would be ranked, in our distribution, among fallacies of generalization, the latter among those of ratiocination.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart MillThe empirical laws which are most readily obtained by generalization from history do not amount to this.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart Mill
British Dictionary definitions for generalization
generalisation
/ (ˌdʒɛnrəlaɪˈzeɪʃən) /
a principle, theory, etc, with general application
the act or an instance of generalizing
psychol the evoking of a response learned to one stimulus by a different but similar stimulus: See also conditioning
logic the derivation of a general statement from a particular one, formally by prefixing a quantifier and replacing a subject term by a bound variable. If the quantifier is universal (universal generalization) the argument is not in general valid; if it is existential (existential generalization) it is valid
logic any statement ascribing a property to every member of a class (universal generalization) or to one or more members (existential generalization)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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