Measures of Central Tendency

Md. Shaheen Mollah

Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Jagannath University
 Contents
 What is Central Tendency
 Defining Average
 Objectives of Averaging
 Characteristics of a Good Average
 Nature & Computation of Arithmetic
Mean, Median & Mode
 Mathematical Properties of AM & Me
 Merits & Demerits of AM, Me & Mo
 Comparisons of AM, Me & Mo
2
What is Central Tendency ?

3
4
 Measure of Central Tendency
 Measure of central tendency show the tendency
of some central value around which data tends to
cluster.

 A useful way to describe a group as a whole is to

find a single number that represents what is
average or typical of that set of data.

 The word average is commonly used as a

general term and the equivalent of the terms
central location, or central value, or as a
measure of central tendency.
5
 Defining Average
 An average is a single value which is considered
as the most representative of typical value for a
given set of data.

 Average is neither the smallest nor the largest

value, but is a number whose value is
somewhere in the middle of the group.

 Averages are the measures used to describe the

characteristic of central tendency or location of
data.
6
 Objectives of Averaging
1. To get one single value that describe quickly the
characteristics of the entire data.

2. To describe indirectly but with some accuracy the

population from which the sample was drawn.

3. To facilitate comparison.

7
Characteristics of a Good Average
1. It should be easy to understand.
2. It should be simple to compute.
3. It should be based on all the observation.
4. It should be properly defined.
5. It should be capable of further algebraic or
statistical computation.
6. It should have sampling stability.
7. It should not be unduly affected by extreme
values.
8
 Major
Averages

Arithmetic
Median Mode
Mean

9
Arithmetic Mean

10
Arithmetic Mean

Sum of Observations

Number of Observations

11
Computing AM from Ungrouped Data

12
 Exercise- 1
•
Persons X (IQ)
Humayun Ahmed 130
Gultekin 126
Shaon 100
Nova 120
Shila 110
Bipasa 120
Nuhash 125
Nishat 110
Ninit 115
= 1056

13
 Computing AM from Grouped Data
Steps:
1. Calculate the midpoints of all intervals
2. Multiply each midpoint by the corresponding frequency
3. Sum the scores or measurements
4. Divide this sum by number of frequency or N to obtain
the arithmetic mean.
Formula to obtain AM from grouped data:
X =∑fiXi / N
X = Arithmetic mean
N = Number of scores
Xi = ith score or Midpoints of the class interval
fi = Frequency of occurrence of particular value X14i.
 Exercise- 2
The scores of attitudes toward older people for 30
students were arranged in the following way. Find the
arithmetic mean.
Attitude Score (Xi) fi fiXi
7 3 21
6 4 24
5 6 30
4 7 28
3 5 15
2 4 8
1 1 1
N = ∑fi =30 ∑fiXi = 127

The arithmetic Mean, X =∑fiXi / N = 127/30 = 4.23

15
 Exercise- 3
Calculate the arithmetic mean for the following
distribution of test scores:
Class Midpoints (Xi) fi fiXi
Interval
45-49 47 1 47
40-44 42 2 84
35-39 37 3 111
30-34 32 6 192
25-29 27 8 216
20-24 22 17 374
15-19 17 26 442
10-14 12 11 132
5-9 7 2 14
0-4 2 0 0
N= ∑fi =76 ∑fiXi = 1612

The arithmetic Mean, X =∑fiXi / N = 1612/76 = 21.21 16

 Mathematical Properties of
Arithmetic Mean
1. The sum of deviations of all the measurements in a
set from their arithmetic mean is 0.

X X X-X
10 -20
20 -10
30 0
40 10
50 20

17
 Interpretation
 When the sum of the deviations from the actual
mean is taken it comes out to be zero.

 It is because of this property that the mean is

characterized as a point of balance.

 Point of balance is the sum of the positive

deviations from mean is equal to the sum of the
negative deviations from mean.

18
 Mathematical Properties of
Arithmetic Mean
2. The sum of squares of deviations from the
arithmetic mean is minimum, that is, less than the sum
of squares of deviations from any other value.
X X-X (X-X)2 (X-20)2 (X-40)2
10 -20 400 100 900
20 -10 100 0 400
30 0 0 100 100
40 10 100 400 0
50 20 400 900 100

19
 Interpretation
 The sum of squared deviations is equal to 1000.
if the deviations are taken from any other value
(20 or 40 or any), the sum of the squared
deviations would be greater than 1000.

 This property of the mean indicates that it is the

centroid, or center of gravity, of the set of
measurements.

 This is also known as the least square property

of the arithmetic mean and becomes the basis for
defining the concept of standard deviation.
20
Merits & Demerits of Arithmetic Mean
Merits
 Used for interval and ratio data
 Most stable measure
 Considers every score
 Amenable to advanced statistical methods
 Easy to compute and easy to understand
 Most popular average in practice
Demerits
 Affected by extreme scores or outliers
 Not a good measure in extremely asymmetrical distribution
 Can not be used in an incomplete distribution
 Provides, sometimes, a value which does not correspond to
the actual variable values 21
How Mean is Affected by Extreme Value

Person Age Person Age

A 24 A 24
B 26 B 26
C 23 C 23
D 25 D 25
E 22 E 62
∑X = 120 ∑X = 160
X=120/5=24 X=160/5=32

22
Normal or Symmetrical Distribution

23
Mean with Symmetrical Distribution

24
Mean with Asymmetrical Distribution

25
 Mean with Symmetrical &
Asymmetrical Distribution
 In a asymmetrical or skewed distribution, the
mean can miss the mark. In the histogram above,
it is starting to fall outside the central area.
 This problem occurs because extreme values or
outliers have a substantial impact on the mean.
 Extreme values in an extended tail pull the mean
away from the center. As the distribution
becomes more skewed, the mean is drawn
further away from the center.
 Consequently, it’s best to use the mean as a
measure of the central tendency when you have
a symmetric distribution. 26
 Median (Me)
 The median is the measure of central tendency
which appears in the middle of an ordered
sequence of values.
 The median is that value for which 50% of the
observations, when arranged with respect to their
magnitude values, either in ascending or
descending order, fall above it and half below it.
 As distinct from the arithmetic mean which is
calculated from the value of every observation in
the series, the median is what is called a positional
average.

27
 Steps for Calculating Median
from Ungrouped Data
1. List the observation in ascending or descending
order
2. Count the number of observation (N)
3. If N is odd (N=2k+1), the median is the value that
corresponds to the observation number (N+1)/2
or the value Xk+1 .
4. If N is even (N=2k), median is the value that
corresponds to the observation number
[N/2 + (N/2+1)]/2
or the value (Xk + Xk+1)/2 28
 Exercise-4
Find the median weight of the following
weights of 11 female students in kg:

47, 44, 42, 41, 58, 52, 55, 39, 40, 43 and 61

29
 Solution: Exercise-4
By arranging the weights in ascending order, the series
becomes: 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 52, 55, 58, 61
Here, N=11.Since N is odd,
the median = value of (N+1)/2 th observation
= (11+1)/2 th observation
= 6th observation
= 44 (Ans.)
OR:
Here, k = (N-1)/2 = (11-1)/2 = 10/2 =5
Median= Xk+1 = X5+1 = X6 = 44 (Ans.)
30
 Exercise-5
Find the median weight of the following weights of
12 female students in kg:

47, 44, 42, 41, 58, 52, 55, 39, 40, 43, 61 and 54

31
 Solution: Exercise-5
By arranging the weights in ascending order, the series
becomes: 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 52, 54, 55, 58, 61
Here, N=12.Since N is even,
the median = value of [N/2th + (N/2th+1)]/2
= [12/2th + (12/2th+1)]/2 OR: Here, k=N/2=12/2=6
= (6th+7th)/2 Median= (Xk + Xk+1)/2
= (44+47)/2 = (X6 + X7)/2
= 45.5 (Ans.) = (44+47)/2
= 45.5 (Ans.)

32
 Formula for Calculating Median
from Grouped Data

Median (Me) = Lm + i(N/2 – cfb)/fm

Where,
Lm = Lower exact limit of the median class
i = Size of class interval
N = Total number of frequency
cfb = Cumulative frequency below the Lm
fm = Frequency of the median class
33
 Steps for Calculating Median
from Grouped Data
1. Compute the cumulative frequencies
2. Determine N/2, one-half of the total number of cases
3. Locate the median class for which the cumulative
frequency is nearly more than N/2
4. Determine the lower exact limit of the median class
(Lm)
5. Determine the cumulative frequency below the lower
exact limit of the median class (cfb)
6. Determine the size of class interval (i)
7. Determine the frequency of the median class (fm)
34
 Exercise-6
Calculate the median for the following distribution of
test scores:
Class f cf Here, N/2= 76/2 = 38
Interval
45-49 1
Median class= 15-19
76
40-44 2 75 Lm = 14.5
35-39 3 73 i =5
30-34 6 70
cfb = 13
25-29 8 64
20-24 17 56
fm = 26
15-19 26 39 Median=Lm+ i(N/2 – cfb)/fm
10-14 11 13 = 14.5 + 5 (38 - 13)/26
5-9 2 2
0-4 0
= 14.5 + 5 (.96)
0
N= 76 = 14.5 +4.8 = 19.3 (Ans.)
35
 Mathematical Properties Median
 The sum of absolute deviations (deviations without
sign) from the median is minimum, that is, less than
the sum of absolute deviations from any other value.
X lX-Mel lX-20l lX-40l
10 20 10 30
20 10 0 20
30 0 10 10
40 10 20 0
50 20 30 10

36
 Merits & Demerits of Median
Merits
 Used for ordinal data
 Insensitive to extreme score
 Used in incomplete distribution

Demerits
 Not determined by each and every observation
 Amenable to only few mathematical operations
 Less reliable and stable than the mean

37
 Median is not Affected
by Extreme Value
Person Age Person Age
A 22 A 22
B 23 B 23
C 24 C 24
D 25 D 25
E 26 E 66
Me = 24 Me = 24

38
 Median & Mean in Incomplete Distribution
Class Xi fi fiXi cfi
Interval
Here, N/2= 76/2 = 38
>45 - 1 - 76
40-44 42 2 84 75
Median class= 15-19
35-39 37 3 111 73 Lm = 14.5
30-34 32 6 192 70 i =5
25-29 27 8 216 64
20-24 22 17
cfb = 13
374 56
15-19 17 26 442 39 fm = 26
10-14 12 11 132 13 Median=Lm+ i(N/2 – cfb)/fm
5-9 7 2 14 2 = 14.5 + 5 (38 - 13)/26
0-4 2 0 0 0
N= 76 ∑fiXi = 14.5 + 5 (.96) = 19.3
= -----

The arithmetic Mean, X =∑fiXi / N = ------/76 = ????

39
 Mode (Mo)
 The mode is the most frequent, most typical, or
most common value in a distribution.
 The mode is not the frequency of the most frequent
score, but the value of the most frequent score.
 It is the simplest, but the least precise, measure of
central tendency.
 For nominal data, the mode is the only measure of
central tendency.
 It can be denoted by Mo and is frequently referred
to as the modal value.

40
 Unimodal, Bimodal & Multimodal
 A frequency distribution with a unique mode is called
unimodal.
 For the data set: 7,8,6,7,9,7,4; the modal value is 7 and
the data is unimodal.
 If the frequency distribution has two modes, then it is
called bimodal.
 For the data set: 6,5,7,5,2,3,3; the modal values are 5
and 3 and the data is bimodal.
 Some distributions might have more than two modes
and these distributions are called multimodal.
 For the data set: 2,6,5,7,5,2,3,3; the modal values are
2, 5 and 3 and the data is multimodal.
41
 Computation of Mode from Grouped Data
Formula:
Mo = LMo + [Δ1/(Δ1 + Δ2)]×i
where,
LMo = Lower exact limit of the modal class
Δ1 = Difference between frequency of modal and pre-
modal class = fMo – f-Mo
Δ2 = Difference between frequency of modal and
post-modal class = fMo – f+Mo
i = Size of modal class interval
Final Formula:
Mo = LMo + [(fMo – f-Mo)/(2fMo – f-Mo – f+Mo )]×i 42
 Exercise-7
Calculate the mode for the following distribution of test
scores:
Mo = LMo + [(fMo – f-Mo)/(2fMo – f-Mo – f+Mo )]×i
Class f Here, Modal class= 15-19
Interval
45-49 1 LMo = 14.5, fMo = 26, f-Mo = 11
40-44 2
f+Mo = 17, i = 5
35-39 3
30-34 6 Mo = 14.5+[(26-11)/(2×26-11-17)]×5
25-29 8
= 14.5 + (15/24) ×5
20-24 17
15-19 26 = 14.5 + .625 ×5
10-14 11
= 14.5 + 3.125
5-9 2
0-4 0 = 17.625 (Ans.) 43
 Exercise-8
Calculate the mode for the following distribution of test
scores: Mo = LMo + [(fMo – f-Mo)/(2fMo – f-Mo – f+Mo )]×i
Here, mode (26) occurs in two
Class f adjacent intervals: 15-19 and 20-24
Interval
Modal class= 15-24
45-49 1
40-44 2
LMo = 14.5, fMo = 52, f-Mo = 11
35-39 3 f+Mo = 8, i = 10
30-34 6 Mo = 14.5+[(52-11)/(2×52-11-8)]×10
25-29 8
= 14.5 + (41/85)×10
20-24 26
15-19 26 = 14.5 + .482×10
10-14 11 = 14.5 + 4.82
5-9 2
= 19.32 (Ans.)
0-4 0 44
 Merits & Demerits of Mode
Merits
 Used for nominal data
 Locates the highest concentration of scores
 Quickest estimate
 Not affected by extreme values
 Used in incomplete distribution

Demerits
 Least stable measure
 Not suitable for mathematical treatment
45
 Relations among AM, Me, & Mo
 A distribution in which the values of mean, median and
mode coincide is known as symmetrical distribution.
 When the values of mean, median and mode are not equal
the distribution is known as asymmetrical or skewed.
 In moderately skewed or asymmetrical distributions a very
important relationship exists among mean, median and
mode.
 In such distributions the distance between the mean and
the median is approximately one-third of the distance
between the mean and mode.
 Karl Pearson has expressed this approximate relationship
as follows:
Mean – Median = 1/3 (Mean – Mode)
or Mode = 3 Median – 2 Mean 46
 Comparison of AM, Me, & Mo
The comparison of mean, median and mode involves
several factors, including the following:
1. Level of measurement
2. Shape or form of the distribution of data
3. Research objective
1. Level of measurement
 Mode can be applied to any set of data at the nominal,
ordinal, interval, or ratio level of measurement.
 Median can be obtained from ordinal, interval or ratio
data, not from nominal data.
 The use of mean is exclusively restricted to interval
and ratio data. 47
 AM, Me, Mo and Measurement Levels

Measures Measurement Levels

of Central
Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio
Tendency

Mean X X √ √
Median X √ √ √
Mode √ √ √ √

48
 Comparison of AM, Me, & Mo (Cont’d)
2. Shape or form of the distribution of data
 In a perfectly symmetrical unimodal distribution the
mean, median, and mode will be identical.
 In skewed distributions, the mean, median, and mode
do not coincide, although their relative positions remain
constant – moving away from the peak and toward the
tail, the order is always from mode, to median, to
mean.
 Whereas the mean is very much influenced by extreme
scores in either direction, the median is modified little, if
at all, by changes in extreme values.
 In a skewed distribution, the median always falls
somewhere between the mean and the mode. 49
AM, Me, Mo & Shape of Distribution

50
AM, Me, Mo & Shape of Distribution

51
 Comparison of AM, Me, & Mo (Cont’d)
3. Research objective
 If a researcher seeks a fast, simple, yet crude
descriptive measure or is working with a bimodal
distribution, he generally will employ the mode.
 To describe a skewed distribution, researcher generally
chooses the median.
 For a precise measure of distributions that are at least
roughly symmetrical, the mean tends to be preferred
over the median.

52
 Which One is Appropriate or Not
When the Data is/has: Mean Median Mode
Interval or Ratio √
Ordinal X √
Nominal and Discrete X X √
Distributed Normally √
Distributed with High-Skewed X √
Extreme Values X √
Incomplete Distribution X √
Large Number of Observation √ √
Small Number of Observation √ X
Unequal Class Interval √ X
Outstandingly Large Frequency √

Better Sequence: Mean>Median>Mode

53
 References
1. Elementary Statistics in Social Research written by
Jack Levin & James Alan Fox
2. Business Statistics written by S. P.Gupta & M. P. Gupta
3. An Introduction to Statistics and Probability (2nd ed.)
written by M. Nurul Islam
4. Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education (6th
ed.) written by George A. Ferguson & Yoshio Takane

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