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Soheil1 Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Buffer

Hi.
May I replace 'buffer' with 'control' in:

"protective factors buffer the effects of those risk factors"
http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?Volume=2&page=558&journalID=21
?
  

Top answer

No, the verb "buffer" has the implication of offering protection, which the verb "control" does not.

  • No, the verb "buffer" has the implication of offering protection, which the verb "control" does not.
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7 Answers
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No, the verb "buffer" has the implication of offering protection, which the verb "control" does not.
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soheil1May I replace 'buffer' with 'control' in:
Perhaps we tend to think in terms of computer operating systems, where "buffers" control (meter) the flow of data. This is a rather specialized definition, although an element of "protection" is involved.
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But it is psychology........................
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So I may not?What does it mean?
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Hi,

"protective factors buffer the effects of those risk factors"

buffer - reduce the degree of the effects, in a general and imprecise way..

control - very precisely make the effects as great or as small as you want.

In short, the two meanings are
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IthanksI should've looked in OALD®.
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soheil1But it is psychology........................
Exactly! So the relatively new computer sense of "buffer" does not work. "Control" may not be substituted for "buffer" in the field of psychology!

<< "protective factors buffer the effects of those risk factors">>

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