Statistics Video Notes - Vocabulary Flashcards

Module 8 AP Psych

Descriptive Statistics

• Descriptive statistics: numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

• Histogram: a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution.

Measures of Central Tendency

• Mode: the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

• Mean: the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

• Median: the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

• Skewed distribution: a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

Measures of Variation

• Range: the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

• Standard deviation: a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

Distribution Shapes

• Normal curve (normal distribution): a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data.

Inferential Statistics

• Inferential statistics: numerical data that allow one to generalize — to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population.

Statistical Significance

Statistical Significance: A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.