What is "generalization"

Generalization \Gen`er*al*i*za"tion\, n. [Cf. F. g['e]n['e]ralisation.]

1. The act or process of generalizing; the act of bringing individuals or particulars under a genus or class; deduction of a general principle from particulars.

   Generalization is only the apprehension of the one in the many.
   --Sir W. Hamilton.

2. A general inference.

1761, "act of generalizing," from generalize + -ation. Meaning "a general inference" is from 1794.

n. (standard spelling of from=American spelling from2=Oxford British spelling lang=en generalisation)

1. n. the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances [syn: abstraction, generalisation]

2. reasoning from detailed facts to general principles [syn: generalisation, induction, inductive reasoning]

3. an idea having general application; "he spoke in broad generalities" [syn: generalisation, generality]

4. (psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulus [syn: generalisation, stimulus generalization, stimulus generalisation]

A generalization ( or generalisation) is a concept in the inductive sense of that word, or an extension of the concept to less-specific English or mathematical criteria. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements (thus creating a conceptual model). As such, they are the essential basis of all valid deductive inferences. The process of verification is necessary to determine whether a generalization holds true for any given situation.

The concept of generalization has broad application in many related disciplines, sometimes having a specialized context or meaning.

Of any two related concepts, such as A and B, A is a "generalization" of B, and B is a special case of A, if and only if

• every instance of concept B is also an instance of concept A; and
• there are instances of concept A which are not instances of concept B.

For instance, animal is a generalization of bird because every bird is an animal, and there are animals which are not birds ( dogs, for instance). (See also: Specialisation (biology)).

The following article titles contain the word generalization or generalizations:

• Derivative (generalizations), fundamental construction of differential calculus
• Universal generalization, a rule in predicate logic
• Generalization error, in machine learning, the modal function that measures how far a student machine is from a teacher machine
• Hasty Generalization, a logical fallacy of faulty generalization
• Generalizations of Fibonacci numbers, in mathematics
• Generalizations of Pauli matrices, in mathematics, physics, and quantum information
• Categorical imperative, redirect from "Generalization in Ethics"

Generalization is the concept that humans and animals use past learning in present situations of learning if the conditions in the situations are regarded as similar. For example, if a person has learned in the past that every time they eat an apple, their throat becomes itchy and swollen, they might assume they are allergic to all fruit. When this person is offered a banana to eat, they reject it upon assuming they are also allergic to it through generalizing that all fruits cause the same reaction. Although this generalization about being allergic to all fruit based on experiences with one fruit could be correct in some cases, it may not be correct in all. Both positive and negative effects have been shown in education through learned generalization and its contrasting notion of discrimination learning.

Generalization is understood to be directly tied to the transfer of knowledge across multiple situations. Generalization allows humans and animals to recognize the similarities in knowledge acquired in one circumstance, allowing for transfer of knowledge onto new situations. This idea rivals the theory of situated cognition, instead stating that one can apply past knowledge to learning in new situations and environments.

Generalization is shown to have implications on the use of the spacing effect in educational settings. In the past, it was thought that the information forgotten between periods of learning when implementing spaced presentation inhibited generalization. In more recent years, this forgetting has been seen as promoting generalization through repetition of information during each occasion of spaced learning. The effects of gaining long-term generalization knowledge through spaced learning can be compared with that of massed learning (lengthy and all at once; for example, cramming the night before an exam) in which a person only gains short-term knowledge, decreasing the likelihood of establishing generalization.

A specific type of generalization, fear generalization, occurs when a person associates fears learned in the past through classical conditioning to similar situations, events, people, and objects in their present. When fear generalization becomes maladaptive it is connected to many anxiety disorders. This maladaptation is often referred to as the overgeneralization of fear and can also lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Generalization has been shown to be refined and/or stabilized after sleep.

In scientific studies looking at generalization, a generalization gradient is often used. This tool is used to measure how often and how much animals or humans respond to certain stimuli, depending on whether the stimuli are similar or different. For example, when measuring responses to color, it is expected that subjects will respond to colors similar to each other, like shades of pink after being exposed to red, as opposed to a non-similar shade of blue.