Introduction to Psychological Statistics

Jet Martine S. Geronimo, RPm

Psychology Instructor
THE WORD IS
‘STATISTICS’
NOT
‘SADISTICS’
Why Do we need
Statistics?
1. It is required
 2. Statistics Uses
Numerical Evidence to
Draw Valid Conclusions
Let’s say you're studying a new drug for headaches,
and you compare the outcomes of a experimental
group to those of a control group who didn’t
receive the drug.
You find that everyone in the experimental group
improved, so you conclude that the drug caused
their improvement.
But you only had 3 people in the experimental
group. With such a small sample size, your
conclusions are not statistically valid.
Your results could have been due to chance rather
than the drug.
It allows you to evaluate claims based on
quantitative evidence and help you differentiate
between reasonable and dubious conclusions.
 Proper procedure:

Drawing

3
1

Producing Analyzing
reliable the data reasonable
data aptly conclusions
3. Statisticians
Know How to
Avoid Common
Pitfalls
 This process includes constructing the study
design, selecting and measuring the variables,
devising the sampling technique and sample
size, cleaning the data, and determining the
analysis methodology among numerous other
issues.
Biased samples: An incorrectly
drawn sample can bias the conclusions from the
start.

For example, if a study uses human subjects, the

subjects might be different than non-subjects in
a way that affects the results.
Overgeneralization: Findings from one
population might not apply to another
population.
Causality: How do you determine when X
a change in Y?
Incorrect analysis: Are you analyzing a
multivariate study area with only one variable?
Or, using an inadequate set of variables?
Perhaps you’re assessing the mean when the
median might be a better?
Violating the assumptions for an analysis: Most
statistical analyses have assumptions. These
assumptions often involve properties of the
sample, variables, data, and the model.
Data mining/Fishing: Even when analysts do
everything else correctly, they can produce
falsely significant results by investigating a
dataset for too long.
4. Lies, Damned Lies,
and Statistics: Use
Statistical Knowledge
to Protect Yourself
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies,
and statistics.“
- Mark Twain
5. Use Statistics
to Make an
Impact in Your
Field
Why Do we need
Statistics in
Psychology?
Why Do we need
Statistics in
Research?
 It measures
what needs
Efficiency Validity to measure;
Making the
data cost- accuracy
friendly and
hassle-free
Analysis

Proper reporting and interpreting of the

results
Statistical methods serve two principal
purposes
Statistics help organize and summarize the data so the researcher can
see what happened in the study and communicate the results to
others.

Statistics help the researcher answer the general questions that

initiated the research by determining exactly what conclusions are
justified based on the results.
It is important for researchers and also
consumers of research to understand
statistics so that they can be informed,
evaluate the credibility and usefulness
of information, and make appropriate
decisions.
 Statistics in
Psychology and
Research?
 Describe
Control sources of Data Visualize the data;
variation, detect analyze with statistical
outliers models

Control Experiment knowledgeExplain

Interpret practical and
statistical significance
Design methodology of results
to answer research
questions Understanding
Predict
Make scientifically sound decisions and
communicate them
Solve Problems and Make
Decisions
TWO GENERAL CATEGORIES OF
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
Two general categories of statistical
techniques

Descriptive Inferential
 • techniques that help describe
a set of data
Descriptive • The goal of descriptive
statistics is to organize,
summarize, and simplify data.
Descriptive Statistics: Visual
Methods Frequency)
 Stem-and-leaf display
 Dotplot
Descriptive
 Histogram
 Boxplot
Descriptive Statistics:
Numerical Measures
 Measures of location
• Mean
• Median
• Mode
Descriptive
• Quartiles
 Measures of variability
• Standard Deviation
• Variance
 • methods that use the limited
information from samples to answer
general questions about populations.
Inferential • help researchers determine when it is
appropriate to generalize from a
sample to a population.
Draw conclusions about a
certain population parameter.

Confidence Intervals.
Inferential

Hypothesis Testing
QUIZ
Identify if the statement is Descriptive
or Inferential
1. A prediction has been made that the chance
that a person will be robbed in a certain city is
15%.
2. A recent survey of 2000 adults having an MA
Psy reported that the average salary is more
than Php25,000 a month.
3. The chances of you getting a new car is about
the same as passing your psychological
statistics class.
4. The Senior Citizens that live in Silang have
better memories than the ones that live in
Dasmariñas.
5. From a past study, it was found that 56% of
women are the primary investors in their
households.
6. 10% of college students are predicted to travel
out the country during summer break.
7. From a past study it was found that the annual
percentage rate (APR) of a certain credit card
averaged 12.83%
8. It is predicted that the average number of
automobiles each household owns will
increase next year.
9. Using this product will burn 74% more calories.
10.There are more females than male enrolled in
Psychology
11.A recent study showed that eating garlic can
lower blood pressure.
12.A prediction has been made that the chance
that a person will be robbed in a certain city is
15%.
13.85% of my students completed the assignment
on Psychological statistics.
14.I am a Psychology major
15.All Boys are f*ck boys
LANGUAGE OF STATISTICS
If statistics-related terms look painfully
familiar to you, seek your indulgence and
you need to remember that overlearning
is the key to retention.
 STATISTICSS
or Sample Statistic refers
to a “Descriptive
measure you perform
over a sample to
estimate Population
Parameter”.
a collection of methods for
gathering, organizing,
summarizing, describing,
analyzing, interpreting,
presenting, and making
valid conclusions of
numerical data.
Parameter Data
A numerical summary of
the population. The set of variable values
measured for a study
A fixed, unchanging
number.
 NonParametric
Distribution-free test Makes assumptions about
the parameter of the
Don’t assume specific population distribution(s)
distribution
Population Sample
data set contains all
members of a specified contains a part, or a subset,
group (the entire list of subset, of a population
possible data values)
Population Sample
Random Sample Representative Sample

group or set chosen from a

is one that accurately
larger population or group of
represents, reflects, or “is
factors of instances in a
like” your population
random manner that allows
for each member of the
larger group to have an
equal chance of being
chosen.
Participants Respondents
Participates in
Responds to survey
experimental and
questionnaires; quantitative
qualitative study studies
Animals in a research
Single human subject of who have first hand
the study knowledge about the topic
Subject Informants
PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS
In psychology we are Example:
interested in either Political conservatism
describing the
Intelligence
distributions of and/or
relationships among Neuroticism
abstract concepts: e.g., Aggression
 Construct

Concept

Operational
Definition Variable
are broad concepts or topics for a study.

can be conceptually defined in that they

have meaning in theoretical terms.

Ex. Intelligence and Life Satisfaction

Construct
t specifically identify how the variables are
measured for the purposes of the research.

should identify how the variable is

calculated or recorded as a numeric value.

Variable
created by developing the construct into a
measurable form

Variables, by definition, correspond to any

characteristic that varies

Operational
Definition
 Other Terms: Experimental

X Y
Independent Dependent
(manipulated Variables
/treatment)
variable
 X Y
Independent Dependent
(manipulated Variables
/treatment) Endogenous variable

variable The variable being

Exogenous variable
referring to a variable that
the experimenter has
some direct control over
and can manipulate
influenced, tested, and
measured in a scientific
experiment.
Other Terms: Non-Experimental

X Y
Predictor Criterion
Variables (outcome)
variable
presumed “cause” presumed effect
 Other Terms

Control Variable a obscures the effects of another

variable

X Y
An extraneous variable that an
investigator does not wish to Confounding
examine in a study. Thus the b
investigator controls this variable.
(covariate)
A confounding variable can have a hidden effect
on your experiment’s outcome.
 Other Terms
A variable that influences, or
moderates, the strength of relation a Moderating
between two other variables and thus
produces an interaction effect
Variable
X Y

A variable that explains a relation or b Mediating

provides a causal link between other
variables.
Variable
 Other Terms
"In general terms, a moderator is a qualitative (e.g., sex,
Moderating race, class) or quantitative (e.g., level of reward) variable
that affects the direction and/or strength of the relation
Variable between an independent or predictor variable and a
dependent or criterion variable.

"In general, a given variable may be said to

function as a mediator to the extent that it Mediating
accounts for the relation between the Variable
predictor and the criterion. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986).
 Other Terms
For example, if age is a moderator variable between
Moderating salary (IV) and health-screening expenses (DV), then
relationship between salary & health-screening can be
Variable stronger for older men and less strong for younger men.

For example, salary (IV) is positively influencing

education (mediator variable) and then education is
positively influencing health-screening expenses Mediating
(DV). When the effect of education is removed, the
relationship between salary and health-screening Variable
disappears.
 Other Terms
Moderator is a third-party variable that modify the
relationship between an independent variable (IV)
and a dependent variable (DV).

Whereas Mediator is a middleman that explain the

relationship between IV & DV
 Other Terms

Latent Variable a An underlying variable that cannot be

observed

a1 a3
a2
An observed variable assumed to indicate the
Manifest Variable presence of a latent variable.
STATISTICS NOTATION
 • capital letters refer to
population attributes (i.e.,
Capitalization parameters)
• lower-case letters refer to
sample attributes (i.e., statistics)
 • P refers to a population proportion; and
p, to a sample proportion.
• X refers to a set of population elements;
Capitalization and x, to a set of sample elements.
• N refers to population size; and n, to
sample size.
Greek • Greek letters refer to
population attributes
vs.
• sample counterparts, however,
Roman are usually Roman letters
Letters
Greek • μ refers to a population mean;
and x,̄ to a sample mean.
vs. • σ refers to the standard deviation
Roman of a population; and s, to the
Letters standard deviation of a sample.
 Rounding Numbers
For numbers... Round to... SPSS Report
Greater than Whole number 1034.963 1035
100
10 - 100 1 decimal place 11.4378 11.4
0.10 - 10 2 decimal places 4.3682 4.37

0.001 - 0.10 3 decimal places 0.0352 0.035

Less than 0.001 As many digits as needed for 0.00038 0.0004

non-zero
 1
1. 1000.999 1. 1001
2. 12.40 2. 12.4
3. 3.145678 3. 3.15
4. 0.0578 4. 0.058
5. 0.0000199 5. 0.00002
6. .00000199 6. .000002
7. ½ + .85 7. 1.35
8. -978.456 8. -978.5
9. Sqrt of 121.11 9. 11.005
10. (.24)(.76) 10. .18
 Reference
• http://statisticsbyjim.com/basics/importance-
statistics/
• https://www.statisticshowto.datasciencecentr
al.com/misleading-statistics-examples/
• http://stattrek.com/statistics/notation.aspx
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/