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mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_(%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F)" title="Компенсация (психология) – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Компенсация (психология)" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kompensation_(Psychologie)" title="Kompensation (Psychologie) – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Kompensation (Psychologie)" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensaci%C3%B3n_(psicolog%C3%ADa)" title="Compensación (psicología) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Compensación (psicología)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86_(%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%E2%80%8C%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C)" title="جبران (روان‌شناسی) – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="جبران (روان‌شناسی)" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B3%B4%EC%83%81_(%EC%8B%AC%EB%A6%AC%ED%95%99)" title="보상 (심리학) – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="보상 (심리학)" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B6_(%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85_%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B3)" title="تعويض (علم نفس) – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="تعويض (علم نفس)" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensatie_(psychologie)" title="Compensatie (psychologie) – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Compensatie (psychologie)" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kompensacja_(psychologia)" title="Kompensacja (psychologia) – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Kompensacja (psychologia)" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensa%C3%A7%C3%A3o_(psicologia)" title="Compensação (psicologia) – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Compensação (psicologia)" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_(%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F)" title="Компенсация (психология) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Компенсация (психология)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensation_(psychology)" title="Compensation (psychology) – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Compensation (psychology)" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_(%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0)" title="Компензација (психологија) – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Компензација (психологија)" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengesel_giderim" title="Dengesel giderim – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Dengesel giderim" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%86%D1%96%D1%8F_(%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%8F)" title="Компенсація (психологія) – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Компенсація (психологія)" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A1%A5%E5%81%BF" title="补偿 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="补偿" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span 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<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Psychological strategy</div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">psychology</a>, <b>compensation</b> is a strategy whereby one covers up, <a href="/wiki/Consciousness" title="Consciousness">consciously</a> or unconsciously, weaknesses, <a href="/wiki/Frustration" title="Frustration">frustrations</a>, desires, or feelings of inadequacy or incompetence in one life area through the gratification or (drive towards) excellence in another area. Compensation can cover up either real or imagined deficiencies and personal or physical inferiority. Positive compensations may help one to overcome one's difficulties. On the other hand, negative compensations do not, which results in a reinforced feeling of inferiority. </p><p>There are two kinds of negative compensation: </p> <dl><dd><i>Overcompensation</i>, characterized by a superiority goal, leads to striving for power, dominance, self-esteem, and self-devaluation.</dd> <dd><i>Undercompensation</i>, which includes a demand for help, leads to a lack of courage and a fear for life.</dd></dl> <p>A well-known example of failing overcompensation is observed in people going through a <a href="/wiki/Mid_life_crisis" class="mw-redirect" title="Mid life crisis">midlife-crisis</a>. Approaching midlife, many people lack the energy to maintain their psychological defenses, including their compensatory acts. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origin">Origin</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Origin"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Alfred_Adler" title="Alfred Adler">Alfred Adler</a>, founder of the school of <a href="/wiki/Individual_psychology" title="Individual psychology">individual psychology</a>, introduced the term compensation in relation to <a href="/wiki/Classical_Adlerian#Primary_and_secondary_feelings_of_inferiority" class="mw-redirect" title="Classical Adlerian">inferiority feelings</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-oxford_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-oxford-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 5">: 5 </span></sup> In his book <i>Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Psychical Compensation</i> (1907), he argued that perceived inferiority or weakness led to physical or psychological attempts to compensate for it.<sup id="cite_ref-oxford_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-oxford-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 5">: 5 </span></sup> </p><p>Such compensation could be positive or negative in its effects: a classic case of a favorable over-compensation for stuttering was the development of <a href="/wiki/Demosthenes" title="Demosthenes">Demosthenes</a> as an outstanding orator.<sup id="cite_ref-oxford_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-oxford-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 5–6">: 5–6 </span></sup> </p><p>Adler's motivation to investigate this was from personal experience. He was a very sickly child. He was unable to walk till he was four because of rickets. Then he was a victim of pneumonia as well as a series of accidents.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (October 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Adler also "transferred" this idea of compensation to psychic training. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Examples"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Compensation may follow the direction of a perceived deficiency, as when a childhood fear of water is over-compensated by an obsession with sailing, or an original fear of picture books by a focus on literature.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Or it may be opposed to the original problem-area, as when childhood rage becomes an unstable adult pacifism;<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or tangential to it, as when sporting weakness is compensated for by academic strivings.<sup id="cite_ref-oxford_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-oxford-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 368">: 368 </span></sup></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Narcissistic" class="mw-redirect" title="Narcissistic">Narcissistic</a> people, by compensation theory, mute the feelings of low self-esteem by self-aggrandizement,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> for example by talking "highly", or contacting "highly admired" persons. Narcissistic children (according to <a href="/wiki/Melanie_Klein" title="Melanie Klein">Melanie Klein</a>) try to compensate for their jealousy and anger by fantasizing about power, beauty and richness.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (October 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Cultural_implications">Cultural implications</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Cultural implications"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christopher_Lasch" title="Christopher Lasch">Christopher Lasch</a>, an American historian and social critic wrote in his book <i><a href="/wiki/The_Culture_of_Narcissism" title="The Culture of Narcissism">The Culture of Narcissism</a></i> (1979) that North American society in the 1970s was a narcissistic society which worshipped fame and consumption, feared dependency, aging, and death, and being self-absorbed was constantly on the look-out for compensatory inputs.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <ul><li>Consumption has been put forward as a means of compensation.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A classic example is the use of goods (material & abstract, eg holidays) to compensate for failures in human relationships, as when parents attempt to compensate for "poor" physical conditions (poverty, abuse ...) they lived in, or to make up for "poor" psychological conditions (acrimony, neglect, divorce ...) they subjected children to, with inappropriately lavish gifts.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Displacement_(psychology)" title="Displacement (psychology)">Displacement (psychology)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sublimation_(psychology)" title="Sublimation (psychology)">Sublimation (psychology)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inferiority_complex" title="Inferiority complex">Inferiority complex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Superiority_complex" title="Superiority complex">Superiority complex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narcissistic_abuse" class="mw-redirect" title="Narcissistic abuse">Narcissistic abuse</a></li></ul> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{clear:left;float:left;margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Psi2.svg/28px-Psi2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="28" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Psi2.svg/42px-Psi2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Psi2.svg/56px-Psi2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="100" data-file-height="100" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Psychology" title="Portal:Psychology">Psychology portal</a></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-oxford-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-oxford_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-oxford_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-oxford_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-oxford_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">R Gregory ed., <i>The Oxford Companion to the Mind</i> (1987)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">O Fenichel, <i>The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis</i> (London 1946) p. 28 and p. 483</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">E Erikson, <i>Childhood and Society</i> (Penguin 1973) p. 34 and p. 187</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">M Nadort, <i>Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Schema Therapy</i> (2012) p 324 and p. 470</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">P Copston, <i>Theories of Human Nature</i> (2006) p. 86</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110102133213/http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/berkeley/papers/39.pdf">Allison J. Pugh: 'From compensation to 'childhood wonder': Why parents buy.</a></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111005201716/http://zanemoosa.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_1_33/ai_56027321">Claude S. Fisher: Comment On "Anxiety": Compensation In Social History</a></li> <li>Christopher Lasch (1979). The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. New York: Norton.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://archive.today/20061016142155/http://www.infinityinst.com/articles/alfred_adler.htm">https://archive.today/20061016142155/http://www.infinityinst.com/articles/alfred_adler.htm</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=535671">http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=535671</a></li> <li>Беляев И. А. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131142/http://vestnik.osu.ru/2009_2/4.pdf">Ограничение и компенсация способностей и потребностей целостного человеческого существа</a> // Вестник Оренбургского государственного университета. — 2009. — № 2 (96), февраль. — С. 24-30.</li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&oldid=1151649603">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Compensation_(psychology)&oldid=1151649603</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Adlerian_psychology" title="Category:Adlerian psychology">Adlerian psychology</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Defence_mechanisms" title="Category:Defence mechanisms">Defence mechanisms</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_October_2020" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020">Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 10:17<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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