Chapter Two

The mean, the variance, and the standard deviation

1. The Mean and other Measures of Central Tendency The arithmetic mean is the average of a set of numbers. It can be symbolised as M and its formula is:

Arithmetic Mean = M =

X
i= 1

X
N

(2 :1)

It is the most important of three measures of central tendency. The other two are the median and the mode. The mode is defined simply as the value which occurs most frequently. The median is the value below which exactly fifty percent of cases fall, and above which are exactly fifty percent of cases. It is the point which splits the set of scores into two equal parts.

Problems Find the mean, mode and median of the following sets of scores. A. B. 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 15.

C. 7, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10.

Philip Ley. Quantitative Aspects of Psychological Assessment

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Answers A. Mean 3.3; mode 2; median 3.

B.

Mean 12.8; mode 15; median 13 (by convention half way between the two mid-most scores when there is an even number of scores). Mean 8.3; mode 8; median 8.

C.

From this point onwards subscripts will be used only when necessary. Returning now to the formula for the mean it can be shown that:

X = NM
Proof (1)

(2:2)

X NM = N . N
= N X . N

(2) (3)

The Ns cancel one another out leaving

X.

This general principle that the sum of a set of values equals N times the mean of that set will be useful at several later points. It is also true that:

(X M ) = 0
1972, 2007 Philip Ley Text re-typed for computer by Irene Page

(2:3)

Philip Ley. Quantitative Aspects of Psychological Assessment

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Proof (1) (2)

(X M ) = X M

by Summation Rule 1.

Further by Summation Rule 3, as the mean is a constant:

M = NM ,
(3) so we obtain

so (1) becomes

X NM .

But we have just shown in equation (2:2) that NM = X

X X = 0.

The value X i M x , the deviation of a score from the mean, is called a deviation score and is sometimes symbolised as x i . Similarly Yi M y is symbolised as yi . As demonstrated in (2:3)

x = 0;

y=0

2. The Variance The variance is a measure of dispersion. It tells us something about the scatter of scores around the mean. It is defined as the mean squared deviation from the mean, and symbolised by a 2 small sigma squared - . Its formula is: Variance = x =
2

(X M )
N

(2:4)

or using x for X M

x =
2

x
N

(2:5)

It follows from this formula that:

1972, 2007 Philip Ley Text re-typed for computer by Irene Page

Philip Ley. Quantitative Aspects of Psychological Assessment

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(2:6) (2:6) is obtained from (2:5) by multiplying both sides of the equation by N.
2 2 x

x = (X M ) = N
2

Another variant of the formula for the variance is:

x =
2

x
N

M2

(2:7)

Proof (1) (2) (3)

x2 = (X M ) / N .
2

= (X 2 + M 2 2 XM )/ N .
Using Summation Rules 1 and 3 this becomes:

( X
(4)

+ NM 2 2 XM )/ N

but we have shown in (2:2) that

X = NM

so we can write:

x2 = ( X 2 + NM 2 2 NMM )/ N
(5) but 2 NMM = 2 NM so (4) becomes:
2

x2 = ( X 2 NM 2 )/ N
(6) Dividing by N this gives:

x =
2

X
N

M2

1972, 2007 Philip Ley Text re-typed for computer by Irene Page

Philip Ley. Quantitative Aspects of Psychological Assessment

14

The numerator (top part) of equation (2:4) for the variance is the sum of squared deviations from the mean. This sum is usually called the sum of squares. Sum of squares = SS = (X M ) (2:8)
2

An alternative formula for this value is:

SS = X
Proof (1)

( X )
2

(2:9)

In the proof of (2:7) at (5) it has been shown that

(X M ) = X NM
2 2

(2)

But NM = N
2

X X N N N X X N2

(3) (4)

Multiplying this becomes:

Dividing numerator and denominator by N gives:

( X )
2

N
(5) Substituting this in (1) we obtain:

(X M ) = X
2

( X )
2

1972, 2007 Philip Ley Text re-typed for computer by Irene Page

Philip Ley. Quantitative Aspects of Psychological Assessment

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1.

The Standard Deviation

The standard deviation is the square root of the variance and is symbolised by a small Greek sigma - . Its formula is the square root of any of the formulae for the variance, e.g.

x =

x
N

(2:10)

The mean, the variance and the standard deviation are important in psychometrics because of their relationships to the normal curve. These relationships will be discussed in the next chapter. Problems Given the following set of scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Find: A. B. C. D. The mean. The variance. The standard deviation. (X M ).

Answers A. 4; B. 4; C. 2; D. 0.

1972, 2007 Philip Ley Text re-typed for computer by Irene Page