Glossary / Lexicon

Grain is a unit of measure which is "a unit of weight equal to 0.0648 gram".

In psychology, the term "grain" might be used in a few different ways, depending on the context. Here are a few possible uses of the term:

• In the context of perception, "grain" might refer to the level of detail or resolution in a stimulus, such as a visual image or sound. For example, a high-resolution image might be said to have a "fine grain," while a low-resolution image might be said to have a "coarse grain."
• In the context of psychology, the term "grain" might also be used metaphorically to refer to the level of detail or specificity in an analysis or description of a phenomenon. For example, a person might talk about looking at a problem "at a fine grain" to mean examining it in great detail, or "at a coarse grain" to mean looking at it in more general terms.

Here are a few examples of how the term "grain" might be used in psychology:

• A researcher might compare the effect of different levels of image resolution on people's ability to perceive details in a visual stimulus.
• A therapist might talk about looking at a client's problem "at a fine grain" to mean examining all of the small details and nuances of the problem, rather than just looking at the broad, overall picture.
• A person might talk about "graining down" a problem or situation to mean breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces in order to better understand or solve it.