Module 2:

Central Tendency and

Variability
PSYCH 2104 Psychological Statistics
 Overview and Objectives

Overview:
An understanding of the basics measures of central tendency and measures of variability

Objectives:
1. Be able to compute, determine, and discuss the measures of central tendency and
variability
2. Interpret the measures of central tendency and variability relative to the data set
Measures of Central Tendency
The typical value that represents a given data set; a
single value or score that represents the center of a set
of scores; a value that best represents the center of data
distribution. Common measures of central tendency
are the Mean, Median, and Mode

Mean
The sum of all collection of scores in a given data set
divided by the number of scores; the average of scores
Computational formula of the mean:
 The mean is the best measure to use when your
data are interval or ratio or continuous and if the
distribution is symmetric. It cannot be used with
nominal or ordinal data.
The mean is sensitive to extreme scores or
outliers.

For example:

Set 1: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, = Mean is 6.

Set 2: 4, 5, 6, 7, 18 = Mean is 8.
Sample Computation
Given, ages of 6 persons: 18, 30, 25, 28, 19, 24
Number of scores (age) is n=6

Sum all scores (age): 18 + 30 + 25….+24 = 144

Applying the formula: 144/n or 144/6 = 24

M= 24, the number that represents the given data set,

or, 24 as the typical age of the 6 individuals
 Mode
The most frequently occurring value/score/number in a given data set;
the most common value that appears in a distribution of scores; the
value/score that appears most often; it is often used with nominal data.

Therefore,
to determine the mode, you just have to
identify the most frequently occurring value in a given data set

If there is only one value that appears most often, we call the data set or
distribution UNIMODAL;
If there are 2 values that equally appear most often, we call the data set
or distribution BIMODAL;
If there are more than 2 equally appearing values, we call the data set
of distribution MULTIMODAL
01 For example:

Given the data set The number that appear the most is
5, 7, 3, 5, 6, 3, 5, 2 5, so Mode =5, and it is Unimodal

Given the data set The numbers that appear the most
are 5 & 3, so Mode =5 & 3, and it is
5, 7, 3, 5, 6, 3, 5, 3 Bimodal
Median
The Median is the middle number in a sorted
Data set 1:
(ascending/descending) list of numbers. It
3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10 = the median is 8.
represents the midpoint of the data set.
Data set 2:
1. Given this data set;
3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10, = the median is 8. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 25 = the median is still 8.

It is usually appropriate to use the median than

the mean when the data set is skewed or there
are clear outliers. The median is not much
affected by outliers.
Data Set 1: 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 12, 12, 13, 15 ( normal distribution)

Data Set 2. 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 10, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15 ( negative skewness)

Data Set 3. 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8, 11, 12, 16 ( positive skewness)

Data Set 4. 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 17, 20 ( data with outliers)

 Measures of Variability
Variability talks about how far apart the scores are in a data set
and how far they are from the center of the distribution.
Measures of central tendency and measures of variability are
descriptive statistics that give a summary of the data set.

The common measures of variability are the RANGE, VARIANCE,

and STANDARD DEVIATION
While the central tendency shows us where most of the points lie, variability shows us
how far apart the points are. This is important because the size of variability determines
how well we can generalize results from the sample to the population.

Small variability is good because it means that you can better predict information about
the population based on sample data. Large variability means that the points are spread
out, so it’s harder to make predictions.

Data sets can have the same central tendency but have different variability or vice versa.
If you know only the central tendency or the variability, you can’t say anything about the
other aspect. Both of them give you a complete picture of your data.
The RANGE is the spread of data based on the
lowest value and highest value of the data set.

To find the range, just subtract the lowest value from the highest
value; R = Hv –Lv

The range is based only on two values, hence it can be affected by

outliers.

Given; 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 13, 17

R= 17 – 3 = 14
The VARIANCE is the average of squared deviations
from the Mean. A deviation is the difference of a score
from its Mean. The variance is the square of the
standard deviation.
Computational Formula of the Variance
 The Standard Deviation is the square root of the
Variance. It is the average variability of scores in
your data set. It tells us the average deviation of
scores from the Mean. The larger the standard
deviation the greater the dispersion of the scores.
Manual Steps in finding the Standard Deviation:

1. List each score and find their mean.

2. Subtract the mean from each score to get the deviation from the mean.
3. Square each of these deviations.
4. Add up all of the squared deviations.
5. Divide the sum of the squared deviations by n – 1 (for a sample) or N (for a population).
6. Find the square root of the number you found.
Formula of the Standard Deviation
Two sets of scores:

Set 1: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10, 11, 13, 13, 14, 14, 16, 19, 20

Set 2: 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 14, 15
When to use the Measures of Central Tendency and Variability
relative to levels of measurement :

Nominal variable = frequency, percentages, Mode (e.g., Sex)

Ordinal variable = frequency, percentages, Mode (e.g., police rank)

Interval and Ratio = frequency, percentages, Mode, Median, Mean

( e.g., age, time, happiness level, Likert-type questions..)
 In summary, we talk about….

Measures of Central Tendency… the Mean, Median, and the Mode

And we talk also about the Measures of Variability… the Range,

Variance and Standard Deviation

.. And their uses relative to the levels of measurement…