---
title: Stochastic
description: "This is a little one but partly to cover my love of words like this. For MH/therapy purposes it probably just means \"random\". #### Details In statistics it can be a bit more formal. A something, typically a set of…"
url: "https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/stochastic/"
updated: "2023-11-23"
category: All OM book glossary entries
---

# Stochastic

This is a little one but partly to cover my love of words like this. For MH/therapy purposes it probably just means "random".

#### Details

In statistics it can be a bit more formal. A something, typically a set of data or a process that generates data, e.g. whether clients arrive on time (including early) or late for appointments, or the scores of multiple clients' answers to a questionnaire at first contact, are "stochastic" if they are well described by, if they fit, some statistical distribution at distribution. The first might fit a binomial distribution (or not), the second might fit a Gaussian distribution (but probably doesn't).

The other meaning applies to a process: it is stochastic if it is random. Tossing a fair coin or throwing a fair die are stochastic (well, almost).

#### Try also

[Binomial distribution](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/binomial-distribution/)
[Distribution](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/distribution/)
[Gaussian distribution](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/gaussian-normal-distribution/)

#### Chapters

I am sure I wanted to squeeze it into the book somewhere as it has a lovely ring to it and I think it makes me sound very wise when I use words like this but I'm sure Jo-anne stopped it getting into the book and quite rightly so. (So this is revenge!)

#### Online resources

None really!

#### Dates

First created 23.xi.23.