Variability

Variability definition
• Variability indicates how spread out the scores are

• When there are large differences among scores, the data are
said to contain a lot of variability

• Consistency- used to describe variability in everyday life

Variability and central tendency

• The greater the variability, the les accurately data are

summarized by the measure of central tendency
• High variability Low Predictability
(Consistency)
• Low variability High Predictability
 Variability and central tendency
• The mean tells where the center is
• Distribution with the same mean may have different variability
• 0, 2, 6, 10, 12 mean= 6
• 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 mean= 6
• 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 mean= 6
 Measures of variability
• The commonly used measures of variability are range, variance
and
standard deviation
• Range
• The distance covered by the scores in a distribution
• The difference between the largest and smallest number
• Formula: Range= Largest-Smallest

• Example

• Give the range for 5 grades shown below

• 95, 76, 83, 81, and 98...............

• R= L-S

• R= 98-76= 22
• Variance and stander Deviation
• Different values in the data set can be spread here and there from
the mean. Variance tell us that ho far away are the value from the
mean.
• Variance is the average squared deviation from the mean of a set
of data.
• It is used to find the standard deviation
• Standard deviation is the square root of variance
• VARIANCE
• Find the mean of the data.
• Mean is the average so add up the values and divide by the
number of items.
• Subtract the mean from each value – the result is called the
deviation from the mean.
• Square each deviation of the mean.
• Find the sum of the squares.
• Divide the total by the number of items.
 How to calculate variance
• The average of the squared deviations about the mean is called the
variance.

• For population variance

x  X 
2

 
2

N
For sample variance
x  X 
2

s 
2

n 1
Mean is represented by and n is the number of items.
 x  X 
2

 
2
= 38 = 7.6
N 5
 standard deviation
• Can think of standard deviation as the average distance to the
mean, : higher standard deviation indicates higher spread,
less consistency, and less clustering.

x  X 
2

s
n 1
• Sample S.td
x  
2


N
• Population s.td
 Normal distribution
• Symmetric, bell-shaped curve
• No obvious skewness
• Single peak
• Described by μ and σ

• Many variables of interest to psychology

are believed to be normally distributed.
Most inferential statistics are based on the
assumption the population of observations
is normally distributed
 standard normal distribution
• Maintains the same shape
• as a normal distribution
• However,
• μ=0
• σ=1
• Why is this
distribution
helpful?
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

If we can transform our data to this scale,

we can express an individual’s score in
relation to two very important distribution
characteristics: μ and σ
• Example

• On an exam with
μ = 80 and σ = 5
• What does
x = 85 mean?

• To see where a score of X = 85 considering all individuals,

we must take into account both the M and the SD
• A score of 85 has a deviation score of 5
• If the standard deviation is 5, then a score of 85 is one standard deviation
above the mean
 Z SCORE
• The z-score specifies the precise location of each X value
within a distribution
• It is one number that establishes the relationship
between:
• The score
• The mean
• The standard deviation
• The numerical value specifies the distance from the mean by
counting the number of standard deviations
• The sign (+ or -) indicates whether the score is above the
Example
On an exam with μ = 80 and σ = 5

• X = 90
• How many standard
deviations above
the mean?
• z-score: 2

• X = 75
• How many standard deviations below the mean?
• z-score: -1
 Why Do We Use z-scores?
• To determine where one score is located in a distribution with respect to all other
scores
• Is a z-score of -0.25 a typical score?
• What about a z-score of 3.75?

To standardize entire distributions, making them Comparable

• Is a score of 85 on one test comparable to a score of 90 on another?

• Is a z-score of 0 on one test comparable to a z-score of 0 on another?
 For a distribution with a μ = 85 and σ = 5

What is the z-score for X = 85?

Accounts for:
• The deviation
score (X – µ)
• The standard deviation (σ)
What if I know the z-score but
not the X?

For a distribution with μ = 60 and σ = 5:

• What score (X) corresponds to a z-score of -2.00?
X = (-2.00 × 5) + 60
X = -10 + 60
X = 50
Conceptually:
• The mean = 60 and the standard deviation = 5
• A score of 2 standard deviations below the mean would be:
60 – 5 – 5 = 50
 Can z-scores be used for samples?
Yes.
• The definition of the z-score is the same for either a sample or a
population
• The formulas are also the same except that the sample mean (M) and the standard
deviation (s) are used in place of the population mean (μ) and the standard
deviation (σ)
XM
z
s
• Using z-scores to standardize a sample has the same effect as standardizing a
population
• The mean will be 0 and the standard deviation will be 1
• What if I know μ, X and z but not σ?