Frequency

Distributions
PSYCH STAT LESSON
 Learning Objectives:
 Describe the basic elements of a frequency distribution table and
explain how they are related to the original set of scores.

 Calculate the following from a frequency table: ΣX, ΣX2, and the
proportion and percentage of the group associated with each
score.
 There is some evidence that people with a visible tattoo are viewed more
negatively than are people without a visible tattoo (Resenhoeft, Villa, and
Wiseman, 2008).

 In the study, one group of community college students was shown a color
photograph of a 24-yearold woman with a tattoo of a dragon on her arm. A
second group of students was shown the same photograph but with the tattoo
removed.
 Frequency Distribution

An organized tabulation of the

number of individuals located in each
category on the scale of
measurement.
 Frequency Distribution Tables

 The simplest frequency distribution table presents the measurement scale by listing the
different measurement categories (X values) in a column from highest to lowest. Beside
each X value, we indicate the frequency, or the number of times that particular
measurement occurred in the data.

8, 9, 8, 7, 10, 9, 6, 4, 9, 8
7, 8, 10, 9, 8, 6, 9, 7, 8, 8
X f
10 2
9 5 Obtaining Σf from a Frequency
8 7 Distribution Table
7 3
6 2 • There may be times when you need to
5 0 compute the sum of the scores, ΣX, or
4 1 perform other computations for a set of
scores that has been organized into a
Σf = N frequency distribution table.

Σf = 20
X f fX
10 2
Solve the equation:
9 5
8 7
(ΣX) 2
7 3
6 2
ΣX 2
5 0
4 1
X f fX
10 2 20
Solve the equation:
9 5 45
8 7 56
(ΣX) 2
7 3 21
6 2 12
ΣX 2
5 0 0
4 1 4
 Proportions and Percentages

X f Proportion
10 2 measures the
9 5 fraction of the total p=f/N
group that is
8
7
7
3
associated with p=2/20
each score.
6 2
5 0
p=0.1
Thus, 2 out of
4 1 20 had X = 10
 Proportions and Percentages

X f
10 2
9 5
Percentage %=p(100)
8 7 In addition, researchers
7 3 often describe a distribution %=0.1/100
of scores with percentages
6 2
(%).
5 0 %=10
4 1
 12
Assignment:

Complete the table:

X f fX p %
5 1
4 2
3 3
2 3
1 1
 “Tell me and I forget,
End of teach me and I may
remember, involve me
Lesson and I learn.”

– Benjamin Franklin