Generalització

Generalització, or generalization, is the process of extending conclusions from specific cases to broader categories or principles. It enables people to apply known patterns to new situations, while acknowledging that differences may be ignored.

In cognitive psychology, generalization describes how learned responses or concepts transfer to stimuli that resemble the original example. Its strength depends on similarity, context, and feedback, and it can yield useful predictions or errors such as overgeneralization.

In statistics, generalization refers to extending results from a sample to a population. External validity relies on representative sampling, reliable measures, and sound design; threats include selection bias, measurement error, and cultural or environmental differences.

In machine learning, generalization is a model’s ability to perform well on unseen data. Overfitting impairs generalization. Techniques to improve it include regularization, cross-validation, simpler models, and diverse training data, as well as checking for dataset shift.

In linguistics and education, generalization covers applying rules to new words or structures. It drives productive language use but can produce errors when irregular forms do not fit the general pattern.

Philosophically, generalization intersects with the problem of induction: universal conclusions from limited observations are not logically guaranteed. Nevertheless, generalization is a foundational, though fallible, aspect of knowledge, science, and everyday reasoning.