Category: S
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Skinner box
A device developed by .B.F. Skinner to study operant conditioning. A device used in experimental psychology in programmed learning. It is designed so that an animal that performs a desired behavior is rewarded, for example, by receiving food.
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Skinfold measures
A procedure to estimate total body fat by measuring the thickness of a fold of two layers of skin and the fatty tissue attached.
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Skinfold calipers
An instrument used to measure thickness of a skinfold in various parts of the body to assess obesity. Instrument used to gently pinch the skin at specific locations, such as the abdomen, to yield a measure of fatness. Skinfold calipers are devices that measure skinfold thickness to determine body fat percentage.
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Skin cancer
A malignancy of the skin is the most common, but most preventable, of all cancers. Most common in geographic areas in which people are excessively exposed to the sun’s ultra violet rays. Neoplasm of the skin. Skin cancer is the most common and most curable malignancy. Sun or other source of ultraviolet-ray exposure (e.g., tanning…
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Skill-related stress
Perceived stress that occurs when a person is uncertain whether he or she has skills to do the task.
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Skilled nursing facility
A health care center that provides rehabilitative services and full 24-h nursing from registered nurses and LPNs for convalescent patients. Patients are under the supervision of a physician, and the facility has a transfer agreement with a nearby hospital. Services may be covered by both Medicare and Medicaid domiciliary care facility; intermediate care facility. A…
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Skill
Job-related behavior necessary to perform activities. An ability to do difficult work, which is acquired by training.
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Skewing
In research, the displacing of frequencies up or down, usually within a normal curve.
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Skewed curve
An asymmetrical frequency distribution in which the range of scores on one side of the mode is greater than on the other side.
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Skew
Role distortion within families of schizophrenics resulting from domination of the family system by one parent. A disorder of relationships within a family, in which one parent is overpowering and the other is submissive and there is a general avoidance of anxiety provoking situations. It was proposed as a specific cause of schizophrenia in the…