Statistics!!!

The meanest part of AP Psychology

Quantitative versus qualitative

Demand characteristics and Confounding Variables
Descriptive statistics
Normal Curve/Normal Distribution
Standard Deviation and Variability
Inferential statistics
Validity
Reliability
Meta-analysis
Statistical Significance
Cross-sectional v.s. longitudinal vs. mixed longitudinal

Key terms you should

know

Qualitative research gathers information that

is not in numerical form

diary entries, open-ended responses, unstructured

interviews and unstructured observations).
Qualitative data is typically descriptive data and
is harder to analyze than quantitative data.

Quantitative data is in numerical form which

can be put into categories, or in rank order, or
calculated in units of measurement.

Quantitative data limits participant responses but

is easier to measure and calculate

A demand characteristic is a subtle cue that makes

participants aware of what the experimenter
expects to find or how participants are expected to
behave

Demand characteristics can change the outcome of an

experiment because participants will often alter
their behavior to conform to the experimenters
expectations.

Demand characteristics

Are irrelevant to the

hypothesis being tested
that can alter our
conclusions

Investigating the effect of

cognitive behavioural therapy?

Control for exercise

Investigating the influence of

video games on aggression?

Control the temperature

Confounding Variables

Descriptive Statistics

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of

groups
Includes calculating central tendencies and measures of variation

Descriptive Statistics

Dealing with Data: Central

Tendency

Central Tendency is a way of capturing scores that are

representative of a distribution in some way; or the average
score in a distribution

Mean
Median
Mode

Be aware of outliers those extreme scores which skew the

data set!
Skewed data is asymmetrical

Central Tendency: The

Mean

The Mean is a measure of central tendency

Sometimes called the arithmetic mean

What most people mean by average

Sum of a set of numbers divided by the number of numbers in

the set

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 55

5.5
10
10

We denote the mean as

X
X

X
n

Central Tendency: The

Mean

Central Tendency: The

Mean

so if

then

X [1,2, 3,4, 5,6,7, 8, 9,10]

X /n 5.5

n = the number of numbers in X(in this

case 10)
Keep in mind that X is a set of numbers and
n is a single number

Central Tendency: The

Median

The median is the middle point in a distribution; it

separates the distribution into two equal halves

if X=[1,2,4,6,9,10,12,14,17]
then 9 is the median

if X=[1,2,4,6,9,10,11,12,14,17]
then 9.5 is the median; i.e., (9+10)/2
There are ways of dealing with repeated numbers in the centre
of the distribution; e.g., if X=[1,2,4,6,9,10,10,10,10,11,12,14,17]

Central Tendency: The

Mode

The mode is the most frequently occurring number in a

distribution

if X=[1,2,4,6,6,6,8,10,12,14,17]
then 6 is the mode
Useful to counterbalance a mean age of onset

Two bimodal distributions

How do you decide what you

need?

So, if your data set is skewed you do NOT want the mean,
you want the median (could use mode but not as common)

Central Tendency:
Standard Deviation

This is essentially a measure of how much

scores vary around the mean score.
The amount of variability impacts our ability to
generalize from the data

Standard Deviation

Normal distribution

Our research questions deal with the whole population but

typically we use samples as the whole population is not
accessible

Inferential statistics are techniques that allow us to use

samples to make generalizations about the populations
from which the samples were drawn

Inferential Statistics

Validity refers to the amount that a measure

actually measures the concept it is designed to
measure

Validity

Validity refers to the amount that a measure

actually measures the concept it is designed to
measure
Think about the SAT I, versus SAT II and GPA
the highest correlation is with SAT II

Validity

Reliability is related but refers to the

consistency of a measure does it consistently
measure the concept
This could look like test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, internal consistency

(the same test repeated, consistency across

different observers, multiple items related to the
same concept to see if the responder answers in
similar ways

Reliability

Meta-analysis

Statistical significance

The likelihood that a result or relationship is

caused by something other than mere random
chance.
We accept odds of 5 out of 100 that an observed
result is due to chance as the standard

Significance

We give the WISC to 100 randomly selected pairs of

siblings
If, in 5 or more of the 100 pairs the younger siblings score
as high or higher than the older, we reject the hypothesis
as false
The older siblings score higher than the younger siblings
98 times out of 100

Hypothesis: birth order affects

intelligence scores, specifically older
siblings score higher

Representative samples are better than biased

samples
Less variable observations are more reliable
than those that are more variable
More cases are better than fewer
Statistical significance is not the same thing as
importance

Remember

Different groups of varying

ages to assess behaviours
associated with age
Cheaper, snapshot in time but
must beware of cohort effects

Cross-sectional research

A group of individuals is observed for a long period of time

It is expensive, time-consuming and prey to people dropping
out (dying)

Longitudinal

Participants from a range of ages are observed

for a limited time, ex. 5 years
It is less expensive and avoids some of the
cohort effect

Mixed longitudinal