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regression artifact
regression artifact A regression artifact is a misleading statistical effect that can appear when researchers test whether a continuous personal characteristic predicts improvement from pretest to posttest while also adjusting for the pretest score.
A regression artifact is a misleading statistical effect that can appear when researchers test whether a continuous personal characteristic predicts improvement from pretest to posttest while also adjusting for the pretest score. If that characteristic is related to the pretest and the pretest contains random measurement error, regression to the mean can create a biased result that looks like a real predictor of learning or change.