3.central Tendency

Central Tendency
Central tendency is a statistical measure to determine

a single score that defines the center of a distribution.
The goal of central tendency is to find the single score
that is most typical or most representative of the entire
group.
• In everyday language, central tendency attempts to identify the “average” or
“typical” individual. This average value can then be used to provide a simple
description of an entire population or a sample. In addition to describing an entire
distribution, measures of central tendency are also useful for making comparisons
between groups of individuals or between sets of data. For example, weather data
indicate that for Seattle, Washington, the average yearly temperature is 538 and the
average annual precipitation is 34 inches
The Mean
The mean for a distribution is the sum of the
scores divided by the number of scores.
• The formula for the population mean
µ = ∑ X/N
• First, add all the scores in the population, and then divide by N. For a sample, the
computation exactly the same, but the formula for the sample mean uses symbols
that signify sample values:
M = ∑ X/n
• For the following population of N = 4 scores, 3, 7, 4, 6
• What is the mean?
The Weighted Mean
• Often it is necessary to combine two sets of scores and then find the overall mean for
the combined group. Suppose, for example, that we begin with two separate samples.
The first sample has n = 12 scores and a mean of M = 6. The second sample has n = 8
and M = 7. If the two samples are combined, what is the mean for the total group? To
calculate the overall mean, we need two values:
1. the overall sum of the scores for the combined group (SX), and
2. the total number of scores in the combined group (n).
The total number of scores in the combined group can be found easily by adding the
number of scores in the first sample (n1) and the number in the second sample (n2). In
this case, there are 12 scores in the first sample and 8 in the second, for a total of 12 + 8
= 20 scores in the combined group. Similarly, the overall sum for the combined group
can be equated
• Calculate the mean from the frequency distribution table.
Characteristics of the Mean
• Changing a Score Changing the value of any score will change the
mean.
• Introducing a New Score or Removing a Score Adding a new
score to a distribution, or removing an existing score, will usually
change the mean.
• Adding or Subtracting a Constant from Each Score If a constant
value is added to every score in a distribution, the same constant will
be added to the mean. Similarly, if you subtract a constant from
every score, the same constant will be subtracted from the mean.
• Multiplying or Dividing Each Score by a Constant If every score
in a distribution is multiplied by (or divided by) a constant value, the
mean will change in the same way.
The Median
• If the scores in a distribution are listed in order from smallest to
largest, the median is the midpoint of the list. More specifically,
the median is the point on the measurement scale below which
50% of the scores in the distribution are located.
• Consider the following set of N = 5 scores, which have been listed in order:
3, 5, 8, 10, 11
What would be its median?
• Consider the following population:
1, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8
What would be its median? Would it be 4 or 5?
The Mode
• In a frequency distribution, the mode is the score or category that has the greatest
frequency.
• Technically, the mode is the score with the absolute highest frequency. However, the
term mode is often used more casually to refer to scores with relatively high
frequencies— that is, scores that correspond to peaks in a distribution even though the
peaks are not the absolute highest points.
• Distribution with two modes is said to be bimodal, and a distribution with more than
two modes is called multimodal. Occasionally, a distribution with several equally high
points is said to have no mode.
When to Use the Median
• Extreme Scores or Skewed Distributions When a distribution has a few extreme
scores, scores that are very different in value from most of the others, then the mean
may not be a good representative of the majority of the distribution. The problem
comes from the fact that one or two extreme values can have a large influence and
cause the mean to be displaced.
• Undetermined Values Occasionally, you will encounter a situation in which an individual
has an unknown or undetermined score. This often occurs when you are measuring the
number of errors (or amount of time) required for an individual to complete a task.
• For example, suppose that preschool children are asked to assemble a wooden puzzle
as quickly as possible. The experimenter records how long (in minutes) it takes each
child to arrange all the pieces to complete the puzzle
• Open-ended Distributions
• Ordinal Scale Many researchers believe that it is not appropriate to use the mean to
describe central tendency for ordinal data. When scores are measured on an ordinal
scale, the median is always appropriate and is usually the preferred measure of central
tendency.
When to Use the Mode
• Nominal Scales
• Discrete Variables Recall that discrete variables are those that exist only in whole,
indivisible categories. Often, discrete variables are numerical values, such as the
number of children in a family or the number of rooms in a house. When these
variables produce numerical scores, it is possible to calculate means.
Central Tendency and the Shape of
the Distribution
• Symmetrical Distributions
• For a symmetrical distribution, the right-hand side of the graph is a mirror image of the
left-hand side. If a distribution is perfectly symmetrical, the median is exactly at the
center because exactly half of the area in the graph will be on either side of the center.
The mean also is exactly at the center of a perfectly symmetrical distribution because
each score on the left side of the distribution is balanced by a corresponding score (the
mirror image) on the right side. As a result, the mean (the balance point) is located at
the center of the distribution. Thus, for a perfectly symmetrical distribution, the mean
and the median are the same (Figure 3.11). If a distribution is roughly symmetrical, but
not perfect, the mean and median will be close together in the center of the
distribution. If a symmetrical distribution has only one mode, it will also be in the
center of the distribution.
Skewed Distributions
• In skewed distributions, especially distributions for continuous variables, there is a
strong tendency for the mean, median, and mode to be located in predictably different
positions.
Class Activity

3.central Tendency

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3.central Tendency

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

3.central Tendency

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Central Tendency

Central tendency is a statistical measure to determine

You might also like