Short Answer

A clinical psychologist administers a standardized anxiety inventory to a group of patients and determines that the score distribution is unimodal and perfectly symmetrical. If the calculated meanmean score is 6565, what are the values of the medianmedian and modemode scores, and why?

Question: A clinical psychologist administers a standardized anxiety inventory to a group of patients and determines that the score distribution is unimodal and perfectly symmetrical. If the calculated meanmean score is 6565, what are the values of the medianmedian and modemode scores, and why?

Sample answer: Both the medianmedian and the modemode scores will also be 6565 (or very close to 6565). In a unimodal and perfectly symmetrical distribution, the meanmean, medianmedian, and modemode are all located very close to each other at the exact peak of the distribution.

Key points:

  • State that the medianmedian is 6565 and the modemode is 6565.
  • Apply the principle that unimodal and perfectly symmetrical distributions align all three measures of central tendency.
  • Explain that the alignment occurs at the peak of the distribution.

Rubric: To receive full credit, the response must: 1. State that the medianmedian and modemode are 6565 (or very close to 6565). 2. Explain that in a unimodal, perfectly symmetrical distribution, all three measures of central tendency (meanmean, medianmedian, and modemode) align at the same point (the peak).

0

1

Updated 2026-05-26

Contributors are:

Who are from:

Tags

KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

Related