What is the distance of a score from the mean?

What is the distance of a score from the mean?

• A. Deviation
• B. Variability
• C. Range
• D. Sum of Squares

Answer: (A)

The distance from the mean for a single score is called its deviation. It’s the difference between the score and the mean: deviation = score minus mean. This tells you how far the score sits from the average, including direction (positive if above the mean, negative if below). Often we look at the absolute value of this difference to get the actual distance, regardless of direction. Deviations are the building blocks for measures of spread, since variance and standard deviation are based on the squared deviations. In contrast, variability is the overall spread of the data, the range is simply the max minus the min, and the sum of squares is the sum of the squared deviations used in variance. For example, if the mean is 10 and a score is 7, the deviation is -3 (distance 3 in magnitude).

The distance from the mean for a single score is called its deviation. It’s the difference between the score and the mean: deviation = score minus mean. This tells you how far the score sits from the average, including direction (positive if above the mean, negative if below). Often we look at the absolute value of this difference to get the actual distance, regardless of direction. Deviations are the building blocks for measures of spread, since variance and standard deviation are based on the squared deviations. In contrast, variability is the overall spread of the data, the range is simply the max minus the min, and the sum of squares is the sum of the squared deviations used in variance. For example, if the mean is 10 and a score is 7, the deviation is -3 (distance 3 in magnitude).