Data points at the extremes of the distribution have
A) little effect on the variance.
B) more effect on the variance than scores at the center of the distribution.
C) are undoubtedly incorrect.
D) distort the usefulness of the median.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Scores at the extremes of the distribution can have a greater effect on the variance than scores at the center because variance is calculated by taking the squared deviation of each score from the mean. Therefore, extreme scores that deviate greatly from the mean will have a much larger impact on the variance calculation than scores that are closer to the mean.

Data Points at the Extremes of the Distribution Have