Generally considered to be a branch of anthropology, it is the systematicstudy of how individual people conduct their live within a particular culture taking into account their historical background, as well as the climate, terrain and habitat (see Geertz, 1973; Marcus, 1998). The same word is also used for thewritten report of such a study. …
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Ethology
A branch of zoology, it is the scientific study of the natural patterns of behavior of animals (including humans) in relation to their natural environment or contexts of expression by means of direct observation, and both laboratory and field experiments, and interpreted mainly in the context of Darwinian evolutionary theory. Alternatively, it is now referred …
Estrogen
Any of a number of steroid hormones produced mainly by the ovaries, and in smaller amounts by the adrenal cortex, during estrus cycle (of which the main one is 17β-estradiol), and responsible for the development and maintenance of female secondary sexual characteristics. Their production is controlled by the leutinizing hormone (a glycoprotein produced by the …
Established risk
Manifest adverse conditions (e.g., autism, blindness, chromosomal abnormalities) that pose a special challenge for amelioration. Down’s syndrome children, for example, have established risks. See Developmental risks, Down’s syndrome, Risk factors
Estradiol
The main oestrogen in humans, it is a steroid (or sex) hormone produced by aromatization of testosterone (i.e., the transformation of testosterone into estradiol). It acts on oestrogen receptors throughout the body, with the largest amounts of estradiol being produced by the granulosa cells of the ovaries. Essential for sexual functioning, it also supports bone …
Essentialism
A philosophical belief, associated in particular with Aristotle, that it is possible to identify the unchanging essence of an individual in terms of a definitive set of properties that are individually necessary and collectively sufficient or, in the context of a study, a variable. In the past, this view was used as means of classifying …
Error variance
Any unexplained variance, such as within-group differences, that is also referred to as random error or variance. The variance of the error term is the error variance. See Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Error term
Escape learning
Learning to make a response in order to escape from an aversive event. Closely related to avoidance learning. Both types of learning occur as a consequence of negative reinforcement. An example of escape learning is giving in to the demands of a figure of authority in order to escape from conditioned distress. Learning to avoid …
Error score
Any measure of some aspect of human behavior, referred to as an observed score, consists of a true score plus some random error. If there were no measurement errors, then the observed and true scores would be the same, something that never occurs with living organisms. Random error arises when the measurement is affected by …
Error term
That part of an equation indicating what is left unexplained by the independent variable(s). Sometimes referred to a ‘disturbance term’, it also called the residual term as it is what is left when the part explained by the independent variable(s) is subtracted from the total variance of the dependent variable(s). See Analysis of variance (ANOVA), …