In statistics, a propensity score is a "conditional probability of exposure to a treatment given observed covariates."[1][2]
The propensity score was introduced by Rosenbaum in 1983.[3][4] The propensity score is the "conditional probability of receiving one of the treatments under comparison ... given the observed covariates."[5] The propensity score can only correct for confounding by independent variables that have been measured.