A psychologist randomly samples 28 clinically depressed patients.She subjects each patient to a standardized battery of tests.The average battery test score for the sample is 128.In this example, the number 128 is a:
A) parameter.
B) sampling distribution.
C) statistic.
D) random variable.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number 128 represents the average battery test score for the sample of 28 clinically depressed patients, which is a characteristic or attribute of the sample only. Therefore, 128 is a statistic. A parameter would be a characteristic or attribute of the entire population of clinically depressed patients, which is unknown in this case. A sampling distribution is a distribution of statistics from multiple samples, which is not relevant to this example. A random variable is a variable whose possible values are numerical outcomes of a random phenomenon, which is also not relevant to this example.

A Psychologist Randomly Samples 28 Clinically Depressed Patients