

Measures of Central Tendency & Variability

Jodi Martin, PhD
 Agenda

 Details about Apply Its

 Quiz 1 details

 Q&A

 Practice problem solutions

 What’s next?
 Apply It Details

 To include jamovi output as answers → copy and paste or screenshot relevant

tables/graphs from jamovi into a Word document or Google doc, etc.

 Submit separate PDF or JPG or PNG file for each question (1 and 2)
 Q1 and Q2 answers can even be submitted at different times!
 Apply It Details

 If you are working with a partner → don’t forget to identify your partner’s
name when submitting, then only one partner needs to submit
 Quiz 1
 Quiz 1 takes place on Thursday May 26th between 2:30pm and 5pm ONLINE
through eClass
 You will have a 40 minute time limit from when you start the quiz
 There will be no in-person class that day

 ~25 multiple choice questions

 Will test your conceptual knowledge of content from Classes 2 thru 5
 Can go back and forth between questions
 Questions are randomly selected from broader question bank → no two students will
have identical quiz
 Formula sheet will be provided, you may want to have a simple calculator as well (at
most you’d calculate a z-score)
 Quiz 1

 What if I need to ask a question during the quiz?

 Email the TAs or myself by email → make sure you include enough detail in your question
that we can determine what you are asking about!

 This is not an open book quiz

 Any attempts to obtain answers from or provide answers to other students through
WhatsApp, Reddit, Discord, etc. will be treated as cheating and will be subject to the
procedures for academic dishonesty
 Consequences could include receiving a score of 0 on the quiz, receiving an
incomplete/failing grade in the course, or even expulsion from the program depending on
the severity of the misconduct, etc.
 Q&A

 To determine whether a distribution has low or high variability, should I only

look at the curve of the graph (peaked vs flat) or can the standard deviation and
variance calculated help indicate whether a graph has low or high variability?

 You absolutely should be using BOTH the graphs AND variability statistics!
 same goes for measures of central tendency

 Graphs permit an eyeballed estimation of what we see happening in the

distribution (data), statistics give us more concrete detail that we can use to
describe the data
 Practice Problem #1
You want to answer the age-old question of whether people prefer cats or dogs! To do so, you have
a group of friends look at both a picture of a cat and a picture of a dog and record how long (in
minutes, rounded to the nearest whole number) they choose to spend looking at each image.

Open the file CatsVsDogs.csv in jamovi to complete the following:

 Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores
 Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each distribution
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

Even number of values for both distributions (30):

𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 5+5

𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = = =𝟓
2 2

𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 3+3

𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = = =𝟑
2 2
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

Σ𝑋 137
𝑀= = = 4.57
𝑛 30

Σ𝑋 93
𝑀= = = 3.10
𝑛 30
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 𝑀𝑎𝑥 − 𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 7 − 1 = 𝟔

𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 𝑀𝑎𝑥 − 𝑀𝑖𝑛 = 4 − 2 = 𝟐

 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

Σ(𝑋 − 𝑀)2 61.36666667

𝑠2 = = = 𝟐. 𝟏𝟐
𝑛−1 30 − 1

Σ(𝑋 − 𝑀)2 18.7

2
𝑠 = = =. 𝟔𝟒𝟓
𝑛−1 30 − 1
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

How did jamovi calculate these values?

𝑠= 𝑠 2= 2.12 = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟓

𝑠= 𝑠 2= .645 =. 𝟖𝟎𝟑
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each
distribution.

Modality
Cat_time → unimodal, only one mode

Dog_time → bimodal if using definition as being there

are 2 modes rather than 2 peaks (I’m fine with either)
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Determine the measures of central tendency and variability for each distribution of scores.

What is the modality of “Cat_time”? Of “Dog_time”?

Cat_time = unimodal (because only one Mode)

Dog_time = bimodal (because two Modes) OR
unimodal (remember the graph from last week!)
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each
distribution.
Symmetry
Cat_time → symmetrical OR (slight) negative skew

Dog_time → symmetrical
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each
distribution.
Symmetry
Cat_time → symmetrical OR (slight) negative skew

Dog_time → symmetrical
 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each
distribution.
Variability
Cat_time → low variability

Dog_time → low variability

 Practice Problem #1: Solution
Using the resulting statistics, describe the modality, symmetry, and variability of each
distribution.
Variability
Cat_time → low variability

Dog_time → low variability

Which distribution has greater variability? Why?

Cat_time has greater variability because the standard deviation,

variance, and range are higher values than Dog_time

This means the values of scores in Cat_time were less consistent,

more spread out, or more different than in Dog_time
 Learning Check!!

Based on the values of the Mean, Median and Mode

in this distribution with scores ranging from 1 - 4,
what is the symmetry (shape) of the distribution of
scores?
a) symmetrical
b) positive skew
c) negative skew
 Learning Check!!

Based on the values of the Mean, Median and Mode

in this distribution with scores ranging from 1 - 4,
what is the symmetry (shape) of the distribution of
scores?
a) symmetrical
b) positive skew
c) negative skew
 Learning Check!!

Based on the values of the Mean, Median and Mode

in this distribution with scores ranging from 1 - 4,
what is the symmetry (shape) of the distribution of
scores?
a) symmetrical
b) positive skew
c) negative skew
 Learning Check!!

Based on the values of the Mean, Median and Mode

in this distribution with scores ranging from 1 - 4,
what is the symmetry (shape) of the distribution of
scores?
a) symmetrical
b) positive skew
c) negative skew

Because only the mean is different but median and mode are the same AND
mean value is very small difference from others → skew is very slight
perhaps non-existent
 Learning Check!!
In the case of a negatively skewed distribution, why does the mean have the lowest
value compared to the median and mode?
a) Because that’s what the graphs from the lecture show
b) Because the mean is the most affected by individual values of scores in the
distribution
c) Because the value of the median and mode are entirely unaffected by skew
 Learning Check!!
In the case of a negatively skewed distribution, why does the mean have the lowest
value compared to the median and mode?
a) Because that’s what the graphs from the lecture show
b) Because the mean is the most affected by individual values of scores in the
distribution
c) Because the value of the median and mode are entirely unaffected by skew

Σ𝑋 Σ𝑋
𝑀= 𝜇=
𝑛 𝑁
Calculation of the mean involves the value of every individual score (X) → this
means it is more affected by extreme values than either median or mode
 Learning Check!!

If the variance for a sample is computed and it is found to be rather large (i.e.,
has a high value), the numbers in the sample are:
a) tightly clustered at one extreme of the distribution
b) tightly clustered around the mean
c) spread out around the mean
d) close to the extremes of the distribution
 Learning Check!!

If the variance for a sample is computed and it is found to be rather large (i.e.,
has a high value), the numbers in the sample are:
a) tightly clustered at one extreme of the distribution
b) tightly clustered around the mean
c) spread out around the mean
d) close to the extremes of the distribution

High values for variance/standard deviation = greater spread of scores from the mean

Lower values for variance/standard deviation = scores more closely clustered around the mean
 Learning Check!!

If the variance for a sample is computed and it is found to be rather large (i.e.,
has a high value), the numbers in the sample are:
a) tightly clustered at one extreme of the distribution
b) tightly clustered around the mean
c) spread out around the mean
d) close to the extremes of the distribution
M M

Smaller Larger
variance/sd variance/sd
values values

Low variability High variability

 Learning Check!!

What is the main difference between measures of central tendency and

measures of variability?
a) central tendency estimate the spread of data while variability determines
the center of the distribution
b) there is no real difference between central tendency and variability
c) central tendency estimates the center of the distribution while variability
determines the spread of the data
 Learning Check!!

What is the main difference between measures of central tendency and

measures of variability?
a) central tendency estimate the spread of data while variability determines
the center of the distribution
b) there is no real difference between central tendency and variability
c) central tendency estimates the center of the distribution while variability
determines the spread of the data

Center of distribution → what value is most typical or most common in a distribution

Spread of the data → how different from what is typical are scores in the distribution
 Learning Check!!

What is the main difference between measures of central tendency and

measures of variability?
a) central tendency estimate the spread of data while variability determines
the center of the distribution
b) there is no real difference between central tendency and variability
c) central tendency estimates the center of the distribution while variability
determines the spread of the data

Next class we will see how central tendency (the mean) and variability (standard deviation) can be used
together to determine:
• the exact location of scores in a distribution
• the proportion of scores in the distribution that are associated with a give score or range of scores
 What’s next?

 Finish & submit Apply It 1 between May 20th – 22nd

 Start Assignment 1
 Due May 29th (+ 1 day grace period)
 You have the knowledge to complete almost all of it (aside from
two questions in Part 1)

 Start preparing for Quiz 1 (Apply it 1 & Assignment 1 will help here!)

 Join us again in-person on Tuesday!

 Watch pre-recorded lectures “z-scores” and “Normal Distributions”