PSYC4700 - Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

Week 3: Central Tendency

Complete the following problems within this Word document. (Do not submit other files.) Show your
work for problem sets that require calculations. Ensure your answer to each problem is clearly
visible. (You may want to highlight your answer or use a different font color to set it apart.)
Submit the document to your instructor by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. central time.

Problem Set 3.1: Characteristics of the Mean

Criterion: Explain a distribution.
Instructions: Read the following and answer the questions.
Data: To study perception, a researcher selects a sample of participants (n = 12) and asks them to
hold pairs of objects differing in weight, but not in size, one in each hand. The researcher asks
participants to report when they notice a difference in the weight of the two objects. Below is a list of
the difference in weight (in pounds) when participants first noticed a difference. Answer the following
questions based on the data given in the table.

Difference in Weight

4 8

9 5

12 7

6 15

10 4

8 8

1. State the following values for this set of data:

a) Mean 96/12 = 8 | Sum of all numbers/Total Number = Mean
b) Median 4+4+5+6+7+8+8+8+9+10+12+15 (all numbers) = 8 Median
| 8+8 = 16/2
c) Mode(s) 8 is the mode as it occurs most in the data set
2. What is the shape of this distribution? Hint: Use the values of the mean,
median, and mode to infer the shape of this distribution. This distribution
is symmetric as the median and mean and equal.

(Assignment continues on next page.)

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Problem Set 3.2: Interpret Means in a Chart

Criterion: Interpret means in a chart.
Instructions: Read the information below and answer the questions.
Data: General life satisfaction across culture. Gilman and colleagues (2008) measured general life
satisfaction in 1,338 adolescents from two individualistic nations (Ireland, United States) and two
collectivist nations (China, South Korea) using the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale
(MSLSS). Mean participant scores on the MSLSS are given in the following table.

Mean MSLSS Scores by Nation and Gender

Nation Gender

Men Women

United States
4.39 4.61

Ireland 4.37 4.64

China 4.41 4.56

South Korea 3.92 3.78

1. Among which group was general life satisfaction lowest on average? Women in South
Korea
2. Among which group was general life satisfaction highest on average? Women in Ireland

Problem Set 3.3: Understanding Standard Deviations in a Chart

Criterion: Interpret standard deviations in a chart.
Instructions: Read the following and answer the question based on the data in the chart.
Data: Acceptable height preferences. Salska and colleagues (2008) studied height preferences
among dating partners. In their first study, they reviewed Yahoo Personals for heterosexual
individuals living within 250 miles of Los Angeles, California, and recorded the acceptable range of
heights for their dating partners. The following table lists some of the results.

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Preferences Women Men

M SD M SD

Shortest acceptable height, inches

68.9 2.6 60.6 3.7

Tallest acceptable height, inches 75.3 2.2 69.8 2.7

1. Overall, did men or women show greater variability in their responses? Explain. Men
have a greater variability. According to the table the range is wider than that of women
with respect to deviation and the larger the deviation, the greater the variability.
______________________________________________________________________

Problem Set 3.4: Range, Variance, and Standard Deviation in Excel

Criterion: Calculate measures of variability in Excel from a group of raw scores.
Data: A sample of likes per post on Facebook: 45, 789, 16, 5, 486, 1, 87, 18, 48, 1
Instructions: Complete the following steps:
o Install the data analytics package in Excel.
o If you are unsure about how to do this, visit Load the Analysis Toolpak in
Microsoft Excel, which has tutorials for both Windows and Mac. Used with
permission from Microsoft.
o Enter the data above into Excel using the variable name Data. In cell A1, type the word
“Data.” Then, enter the data above in cells A2 to A11.
o In the Toolbar, click Data Analysis, Select Descriptive Statistics, then click OK.
o Next to input range type: $A$2:$A$11
o Double check that summary statistics has a check next to it.
o Click OK. A new sheet will appear to the right with your data.
o Copy and paste the descriptive statistics table below.
o Highlight the range, mean, and standard deviation.

Mean 149.6
84.8148
Standard Error 6
Median 31.5
Mode 1
268.208
Standard Deviation 1
Sample Variance 71935.6
3.34630
Kurtosis 1
Skewness 2.03569

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Range 788
Minimum 1
Maximum 789
Sum 1496
Count 10

Problem Set 3.5: Range, Variance, and Standard Deviation in SPSS

Criterion: Calculate measures of variability in SPSS from a group of raw scores.
Instructions: Complete the following steps:
a. Enter the data from Problem Set 3.4 into SPSS using the variable name Data.
b. In the Toolbar, click Analyze, select Descriptive Statistics, and then select
Descriptives.
c. Click Data and then click Arrow to send it over to the right side of the table. Select
Options, check the boxes Variance and Range, and then click Continue.
d. Click OK and copy and paste the descriptive statistics table below.
e. Highlight the range, mean, and standard deviation.
f. Answer: Does your mean equal the mean calculated in Problem Set 3.4? Yes

Problem Set 3.6: Clean Your Data

Criterion: Clean data.
Instructions: Follow the directions below.
a. Open the Excel file you downloaded from GSS (GSS.xls)
b. Delete the entire row when there is an answer of “No answer,” “Not applicable,” or “Don’t
know.”
 To delete a row, click the number of the row so it’s all highlighted, then click
Delete from the toolbar.
o SHORT CUT: Click on the row 1 to name of one of your variables, Click
Sort & Filter from the toolbar, and then Sort A to Z. Now the answers
are in order and you can highlight and delete. When one variable is done,
repeat with your other variable.
c. Using the information on the Codes tab, turn the information on your variables from
words to numbers. For example, if label Depends equals code 3, replace Depends with
a 3. If the answer Depends only appears in 1 of your two variables, you can go to Find

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& Select, then Replace, then enter the information. If the answer Depends appeared in
both variables, you’ll want to do Sort & Filter as you did above.
d. Take a screenshot of your completed work (it’s okay if not all data shows) and paste
below.

Problem Set 3.7: Importing Data from Excel to SPSS

Criterion: Import data to SPSS.
Instructions: Follow the directions below.
a. Open SPSS, click on File, in the toolbar. Select Import Data. Click on Excel.

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b. Select the Excel file you downloaded from GSS (GSS.xls), click Open
c. Click OK
d. Open your Excel file from GSS (GSS.xls), and click the Codes tab.
e. In SPSS, go to Variable View. For your first variable, click Values. Type 1 in Value;
then look at Excel for 1 for that variable. In Label, type the label for 1. The click Add.
When all values for the variable have been entered, click OK.
f. In SPSS, go to Variable View. For your second variable, click Values. Type 1 in Value:
then look at your Excel for 1 for that variable. In Label, type the label for 1. The click
Add. When all values for the variable have been entered, click OK.
g. Copy and paste your Variable View below.