generalization

[ jen-er-uh-luh-zey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of generalizing.
2. a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle.
3. Logic.
   1. a proposition asserting something to be true either of all members of a certain class or of an indefinite part of that class.
   2. the process of obtaining such propositions.
4. Psychology.
   1. Also called stim·u·lus gen·er·al·i·za·tion [stim, -y, uh, -l, uh, s jen-er-, uh, -l, uh, -, zey, -sh, uh, n]. the act or process of responding to a stimulus similar to but distinct from the conditioned stimulus.
   2. Also called re·sponse gen·er·al·i·za·tion [ri-, spons, jen-er-, uh, -l, uh, -, zey, -sh, uh, n]. the act or process of making a different but similar response to the same stimulus.
   3. Also called me·di·at·ed gen·er·al·i·za·tion [mee, -dee-ey-tid jen-er-, uh, -l, uh, -, zey, -sh, uh, n]. the act or process of responding to a stimulus not physically similar to the conditioned stimulus and not previously encountered in conditioning.
   4. 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.

generalization

/ ˌdʒɛnrəlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. a principle, theory, etc, with general application
2. the act or an instance of generalizing
3. See conditioning
   psychol the evoking of a response learned to one stimulus by a different but similar stimulus See also conditioning
4. 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
5. logic any statement ascribing a property to every member of a class ( universal generalization ) or to one or more members ( existential generalization )

Word History and Origins

Origin of generalization¹

First recorded in 1755–65; generalize + -ation

Example Sentences

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.

From Outside Online

That assumption was based on several generalizations about the inner solar system’s evolution.

From Quanta Magazine

While 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.

From Search Engine Watch

There 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.

From Nautilus

He 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.

From Quanta Magazine

Glassdoor is comfortable making generalization about firms based on a sample size of 20 reviews.

From The Daily Beast

This is not just a psychological generalization, but a kind of existential point.

From The Daily Beast

I had some people come up to me after and talk to me—‘Oh, I disagreed with that,’ ‘I thought that was a generalization.’

From The Daily Beast

Quite frankly, your generalization (one of many) that no 15-year-old is capable of writing as I did is false.

From The Daily Beast

“It makes me so sad when people say print is dead because it's such an unfair generalization of where things are,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

The number of cases in E. Mitior is too limited to warrant further generalization.

From Project Gutenberg

It will not do to lay great emphasis on minute details, and neglect the art of generalization.

From Project Gutenberg

But this very paradox leads to the real principle of generalization concerning the properties of numbers.

From Project Gutenberg

The former would be ranked, in our distribution, among fallacies of generalization, the latter among those of ratiocination.

From Project Gutenberg

The empirical laws which are most readily obtained by generalization from history do not amount to this.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acumen
• analysis
• argument
• hypothesis
• inference
• interpretation
• premise
• proposition
• rationale
• thinking