The problem with measuring dispersion by merely averaging all the deviations between each score and the overall mean is that
A) positive and negative deviations will balance out.
B) squared values make intuitive interpretation difficult.
C) dividing by (N-1) gives a biased statistic.
D) There are no problems with measuring dispersion this way.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Positive and negative deviations from the mean will indeed balance out to zero, which is why measures of dispersion like variance square these deviations before averaging them, to ensure they do not cancel each other out.

The Problem with Measuring Dispersion by Merely Averaging All the Deviations