i Ty yauts statistics in Psychology | why study statistics? og is science and sclentists must have ways of deseribing, summarizing, nd pe the numerical data gathered through systematic observation and experimenta- 2 statistics allow researchers todo al of these things in a meaningful logical fashion. Learning Objectives ‘Ad Explain why statistics are important to psychologists and psychology majors. Describe the types of tables and graphs that represent patterns in data. AZ 'A3__ Identify three measures of central tendency and explain how they are impacted by the shape of the distribution. aM AS Identify the types of statistics used to examine variations in data. Describe how inferential statistics can be used to determine if differences in sets of data are large enough to be due to something other than chance variation. Explain how statistics are used to predict one score from another. 5 What Are Statistics? Ad Explain why statistics are important to psychologists and psychology majors. Many students in psychology wonder why the field uses such seemingly complicated ‘uthematics. The answer is easy. Psychologists base ther field on research findings. Data ‘zecllected, and they have to be analyzed, Statistics isthe field that gives us the tools to dotat __ Paychologists have to be able to do two things with the data they collect. The first is | summarize the information from a study or experiment. The second is to make judg ice decisions about the data. We are interested if groups differ from each other. ‘tealso interested in how one group of variables s related toanother, eae “g,__ Diatisties is the branch of mathematics that is concerned with the collection and peat ee eget aes | é ton of data from semples(Agres & Finlay, 1987; Aron eta 2005). A sample gid he collection and interpretation | pup of people select, evally randomly, rom a larger population of people. If of numerical data $ ign ‘what the average height of teenage males was, and you ‘calculated the average le 'Your high school, that average would be a statistic. samp! TEMA mrteininat Sonne tons a f data. Psychology is only one of many fields tha selected randomly. ee j AtAZ ApPENOKA In this appendix we val take a look at describing, data—seeing, i gzcarg Aer fro each other and sexing if two variables are related tareach other, Thenv are the basic iden, of paychological statistics. The more advanced techniques are just bigger acd tater ver. lors of these ideas Many paychology students eoretiraes panic at the thenasbt of taking statistics, However, itis crucial to the field and not really that hard if yous put yenur rine toit and don’t freeze yourself up. Why is it so important? Even if you are nen the Kird oh prychologist who uses statistics on a daily basis, all paychologgsts have tobe able read and understand the research others are doing, and understanding, what the statistica} analyses of that research is realy saying, is crucial. Here's a practical hint: Students wth {good research and statistical skills are much more employable and make more moray than thone who don't try to master reazarch skills. I's nice to care about people but yo need all the skills you can get in today’s world. Statistics and rewarch design is one really profitable set of skills. Practice Quiz How much do you remember? Pave cet wou 4. ste rere ot ratesrencs tat n ornosred wth be ee Roun yas to acer etrite Wat ys, Te Mba Es, oe | DUDE UTP LLIV EANT As Congest esate BS HELE Th ESS Fo PAE a oem RN [00 YR YA MONEE LEAL beepers enesera Pe Se, on fas Wer ©. Ornette. patches. tors 8. Wihich of the tolowreg, 2. Wie a re eee sorttone dl vog steely 8 seprongea wore ah oft B. Ws berets coterrewn est ty“ Be aloun paste cater tohypitcia tes mre oh babi hen B. Dopeenle wars te putas cnrent. e etmeaungse creer, b.kiom pincer oumnrtio wy deems taeiis bs be gases Stent Mn taeh 2H meas ey ny See. ested oeccn cer? Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics are a way of organizing numbers and summarizing thers they can be understood. There are twro main types of descriptive statistics: ‘+ Measures of Central Tendency. Measures of central tendency are used ‘6 | of water they drink each day. You could represent the answers as shown in Table A.1i : lll. Fare AA AHistogram cr bar g'Bphs, provide a visual way to look at data fom fequeney dstrbutons In ths graph, role, the height ofthe bars indicates that most people nk between four and eight glasses of water weare, owed by te fe highest bars in the mide of the gah). yutby looking at this table, it is clear that typical people drink between four and eight of water a day. ‘Tables can be useful, especially when dealing with small sets of data. Sometimes a are visual presentation gives a better “picture” of the pattems in a data set, and that is ‘when researchers use graphs to plot the data from a frequency distribution. One common gaphisa histogram, or a bar graph. Figure A.1 shows how the same data from Table A.1 roid look in a bar graph. Another type of graph used in frequency distributions is the ‘elygon, a line graph. Figure A.2 shows the same data in a polygon graph. JHE NORMAL CURVE Frequency polygons allow researchers to see the shape of aset of data easily. For example, the number of people drinking glasses of water in Figure Ais easily seen to be centered about six glasses (central tendency) but drops — Pure a2, ‘APolygon «data ina fequanay dtibuflonn much hn sare way 098 {0 ane graph that can represent th Spas alows tho shape of the data ato be oasly ened: ie. Statistics in Psychology A-3 ible A.1 A Frequenc Distribition a! Pa a aa ema ela 8 I 4 histogram ‘bar graph showing a frequency distribution, polygon line graph showing a frequency z distribution,ASB APPENDIXA standard deviation the square root of the average squared deviations from the mean of scores in a distribution; a measure of variability. es inthe distribution. For example, if you Took at Table a9 ‘would be 160 ~95, of 65. But if you just look at the numb “t that much variation except forthe three highest scary, when there are extreme sco" the range of those 1Q scores you can sce that there really isn’ (of 139, 150, and 160. i “The other measure of variability that is commonly used is the one thats related the normal curve, the standard deviation. This measurement is simply the square oo, of the average squared difference, or deviation, of the scores from the mean of the dis. bution. The mathematical formula for finding the standard deviation looks complicated, but it is really nothing more than taking each individual score, subtracting the mean from it squaring that number (because some numbers will be negative and squaring them ges tid of the negative value), and adding up all of those squares. Then this total is divided by the number of scores, and the square root ofthat number is the standard deviation. In the IQ example, it would go like this: Standard Deviation Formula SD = V[2(X — My/N) ‘The mean (M) ofthe 10 1Q scores is 1146. To calculate the standard deviation, we Subtract the mean from each score to get a deviation score —» (X ~ M) Square each deviation score —> (X — M> ‘Add them up. Remember that’s what the sigma (2) indicates > 3(X — Mj? Divide the sum of the squared deviation by N (the number of scores) > 3(X ~ M?/N ‘Take the square root (V) of the sum for our final step. V[3(X — MY/N] ‘The process is laid out in Table A.3. ‘The standard deviation is equal to 23.5. What that tells you is that this particular group of data deviates, or varies, from the central tendencies quite a bit—there are some very different scores in the data set or, in this particular instance, three noticeably differ- cent scores. | sac? = 2061.10) | t2sas6 | 59536 158.78, 158.76 | 2116 213.16 21316 275.58 sea16 ‘Sum of Scores (2x = 000. (29 = 1.148.00 ‘Mean = 29/N 19/10 = 114.60 =y ‘Atatition in Paychotogy — AO proces may Loh Very CoMpHeated, Let us agate yon 0 ete a peng auton No one dows a standart asec q too the stantartoviotion telat to the orm eure? Lets look at th Ratton of 1 scores hoe a mG GH OF Lamson eat a py the toxt closignens, Iisa bell curve, With a trie lathon of 15 ee : swormal curve, researchers al what pereentage of the population Hes andor the enrve bet a wee ayo Fy evatton ftom the mean For exanpte, notice that i the poreentaye nt anne staat dlovtation above the mean hay 34,10 percent of the | repalatlon 2 AS pth geoph ater that sect, These athe aonerhore ea jane 18, One standard deviation below the mean (1) has exactly the same pers Aa var that sectlon—the scores betvoun AB al TO, Ts mene tha 26 et atthe popitation (alls within one stonlaral deviation from the meas, ae one Teg spre” from the center of the distribution, Hor example, “giftedness” Is nor ay defined as having an IQ score that is two standard deviations above the mea she Wectster Intelligence Seales, this means having. an 1Q of LM) oF geeater bee speitestaler’s stanard dovlation is 15, But ifthe testa person took to determine gaess Was the Stanford-Binet Fourth Edition (the previous version of the test), score nmust have been 132 or greater because the standard deviation of that test ‘as tésnot 15. The current version, the Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition, was publistedt ‘AIK, and It NOW has a mean of 100 anel a standard deviation of 15 for composite ‘Although the “tails” ofthis normal curve seem to touch the bottony of the graph, initeory they go on indefinitely, never touching the base of the graph. In reality, ough. any statistical meastrement that forms a normal curve will have 99:72 percent ifthe population it measures falling, within three standard deviations either above or ‘edo the mean, Because this relationship between the standard devi © aleurve does not change, itis alivays possible to compare lift ata that come close to a normal curve distribution, This is do tear, which indicates how many standard dev fon andl the nor= ent lost scores OF Se by computing az tions you are away from the mean. Ris calculated by subtracting the mean from your score and dividing by the standard oe sion, Fo example, if you had an 1Q of 115, your = score would be 0.1 you had an etal mens hat le 1Qel70, youre score would be 2.0 S0.n any exams if you hd a positive score, You Har gcoe in terms ofthe dralatively well, A negative z score means you didn’t do as well, The formula for Par of atandard deviations that woreisi exist between the mean and that Z=(X—M)/SD ‘score, Figure A.8 IQ Normal Curve ‘Scores on intligance test ae typically tapresented by tho norma curve, The dotted vortca ines each represent one ‘standard deviation from the moan, which Is edvaye sot at 100. Fr example, an IO of 116 on the Stanford-Binet Fourth Eaton (Stanford-Binat 4) reprosents ona standard ‘aviation above the mean, and tho area Under tho curve indicatos that $4.13 percent ‘ofthe popuiation fs between 100 and 11 on that test, Tho Stanford-Binet Fith ation was published in 2008 and it owe © ‘has a mean of 100 and a standard devtaton’ (0f 16 for composite scores:Ax10 APPENDIX A Practice Quiz How much do you remember? Pick the best ansiver 1, Dr. Kopelowost has just given an examination to Fis introduction to Psychology class. Because this is a class of more than students, it would be dificult for him to assess the resuits looking at each score one at atime. Hf he wants to know how ‘many students eamed an A, a B, and so on, which of the raxdo or the thd Ova"n Of cher received his 07 : ee rest, He is Raby DECALS Hs rc 4a 90 on tis fh ern. Cn no start of neronsing nce te ny ron ad on he socond evan NO tre resents tho approximate ese of 3, Aaron has ist lass, He eared nave been stad fret exam he oarned 6” 6 £85, vmich of tho fo three exam scores? fotowing might Bethe best for him to program hs computer topenide? Be 2. Areas of cena tnsoey 288 b. Amean 255 ©. A frequency dstrbvton a would bo most usould you Wan 10 @ Aare a ent ee cporame ‘2. Because ots ver specie shane aroma” trun s a8 how na foten desorbed as @__ uve. ASCE abet .Azsc8 Bi. posticy stowed oa deviation cooticent negate skewed e- Rami determine & mates inferential statistics statistical analysis of two or more sets of numerical data to reduce the possibility of errr in measurement and to determine ifthe differences between the data sets are greater than chance variation would predict. a Inferential Statistics of statistics are useful for ‘seful when it comes tween them that re organizing and summarizing numbers to comparing sets of numbers or scor Descriptive methods spect enough t be caused By somel scores. But what method is u to see if there are differences thing other than chance variation? DIFFERENCES: STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE intial statistics can be used to determine if differences i LOOKING AT fh to be due to something other than chance variation. A.B Describe how infere sets of data are large enous) Inferential statistics consist of stats the difference between results of a stu {due to chance variations. Inferential statisti tical techniques that allow researchers to det .dy that are meaningful and those that are merely is also allow researchers to draty conclusions vs, about the results of research and about whether those results are only als or people involved in the study or whether the ym which the study cor make in true for the specific group of anim: results can be applied to, or generalized to, the larger population fror participants were selected. For example, in the Cheryan (Cheryan et al, 2009) study of the difference in male and female students’ attitudes toward computer science when exposed to environments that were either stereotypically masculine or nonstereotypical, there were a lot of vari ables that simply could not be controlled completely, even with random assignment of participants to the two conditions. For example, there was no guarantee that random assignment would account for the interfering effects of female participants who might have really liked the science fietion toys, posters, and pizza they saw in one of the test conditions. Maybe any difference found between the males and females was due to pur’ luck or chance and not tothe variables under study. In any analysis that compares two or more sets of data, there’s always the poss bi ofenvrin dts ht coms either from within he group (lpn group, for example, will not be exactly lke each other) oF differences between gr0¥PS (the experimental group and the control group are formed with different people, $0 ther?Statistics in Psychology A=44 Ailfeences Between the wo groups that have nothing, to do with the manipulations CE eare Tean), Witea rescarchera want to know Hf the diferences they find in the aia that come from stg * like the Cheryan experiment are large enough tobe caused ytheexperimental maniputation and not just by the chance differences that exist within Eee EY Mave toutea kind ary ical technique that can take those chev slatingeg nt Thee kins of saticten! analysis use inferential statistics, ance they should have imine te allows researchers to determine how much con: rer ret from other kinds of stuctiee toe earn AS You might remem and ese StUCCS—are af th on Flationships—observations, surveys, actiDtive statistics, especially correlations ten analyze wit seernents 19k for crus af eon Ee Fesearchers want to have some ev ih ees erent rally mean what they think they mean, ind of inferential stetsty iswed depends on the design ofthe wap such actor ta and dependent variables or the numtee experimental grouse sishave one thing in common—they took aorermeta aeesatstially significant Stauctnny independent Broups. All inferential statis: ‘Statistically significant referring to differences in data sets that are larger than chance variation ‘would predict. report that the study found a significant Rot to be due to chance. ttest ‘type of inferential statistical analysis ‘typically used when two means ‘are compared to see if they are significantly different.‘V2 APPENDIX A correlation coefficient a number that represents the strength and direction of a relationship existing between two variables; number derived from the formula for measuring a correlation. i | Ifyou do take a statistics course, you will ind out thy computers, and you don’t have to manually go through the We've already talked about the correlation coefficient can predict one varlable from another by using it IM ana oy, form Ler’ ‘8 8¢¢ hey, se, ty Pith, ‘THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT AG Explain how statistics are used to predict one score fom sn, ‘A correlation is a measure of the relationship between two or more y ple, if you wanted to know if scores on the SAT are related to grade could get SAT scores and GPAs from a group of people and enter th mathematical formula, which will produce a number called the Atiables Fog nt avery Point avers ose numbers Chapter One discusses correlation in more detail and also emphasis does not allow the assumption that one variable causes the other @ Is the formula for the correlation coefficient really ‘complicated? Actually, the definitional formula for finding a correlation coefficient is ot complicated. Here itis 7 32,2, 1" The ris the correlation coefficient, the number representing the strength and de tion of the relationship between the two variables. Z, and Z, are the z scores forex score. If you remember, the z score tells you how many standard deviations ascoeis away from the mean, You would calculate the Z, and Zy for each subject, multiply nd add them up. Then divide by the number of subjects. There isa very complicated -ocking formula based on the raw scores. sxy- 2X24 * ee 2) e- F) (xe- 22 )ay- ny Don’t worry. You can do all this work on inexpensive calculators or on comps rs using common statistical programs or spreadsheets. Let's take the following exs- ple of two sets of scores, one on a test of drawing ability with scores from 1 (poot) © 5 (excellent) and the other on a test of writing ability using the same scale (see Table AML If we plugged our data set into our calculator or spreadsheet, we woul ind tt 7 (the correlation coefficient) equals 0.86, That would indicate a fairly strong correlation. If you continue studies in statistics, you will find out how to see if the corvelation cot it we calculated is statistically significant or, if you recall, not due to just dumb xk when we picked our subjects In our case the ris very significant and would happen? chance only 1 in 100 times! Remember that the correlation coefficient has values that range between +10 and ~1.0. The closer the rs to these values, the stronger the relationship. A positive reams? positive relationship, whereas a negative r means a negative relationship Our example had us trying to see if two scores were related. It is also possible ® see if three or more scores are related with various techniques, The most common one 8 called multiple regression.Statiation In Paychotoay — A-43 8 5 ) 7 t > e 3 4 | fi 1 | a suet \ 4 a Sunt? 2 3 srudent 8 3 4 (See 8 S student 10 1 a practice Quiz How much do you remember? ero =. statistes consist of techniques thet allow researchers | oe commen naman taiee Ce era ana) ant cnacs ae prestal tere ee seo tr acta att nti ha ree ret 2 , and he wants to analyze the variance See ee er woa roe eater Pe rng wt Lee aye aing euewat'o or ee us ta erate 3. Baloy is conducting a correlational study that examines the frequency with which f rains in her town and the atrmosphenc ‘pressure at noon on each day. When she is done. she caicuates @ ‘Contation cooticent that wil summavize the relationship between these two vanables, Tis coefficient is going to be summarized by the lowercase lettor ber ep ae 4, ita researcher wants to demonstrate that ther findings depict & signfcant derence between participant groups, which of the following statistical staternents would need to be mado? a. 95005 bi r= 21.00 8. 12260 di. 25 100 Chapter Summary What Are Statistics? ‘AA Explain why statistics are important to yéologists and psychology majors. * Satistics is a branch of mathematics that involves the collection, zcipin and intezpretaion of numerical data. * Sedets who understand the process of research and the sta- {sical methods used in research are more desirable to many ‘Srey and busines intitions than those wh ac such _ Detcriptive Statistics _ ‘Dsciptive statistics are ways of organizing numbers and sum- Stang them so that they can be understood. A.2. Describe the types of tables and graphs that represent patterns in data. + Frequency distributions are tables or graphs that show the pat- tems ina set of scores and can be a table bar graph oF histo- gram, ora line graph or polygon. + The normal curve is a special frequency polygon that is symmet- rical and has the mean, median, and mode as the highest point con the curve A.3 Identify three measures of central tendency and explain how they are impacted by the shape of the distribution. + Measures of central tendency are ways of finding numbers that best represent the center of a distribution of numbers arid {nelude the mean, median, and mode. ‘ s