1. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Chapter 4: Standardized Scores and the Normal Distribution
The simplest standardized scores are called z scores. They tell you the distance of a raw score from the mean in terms of standard deviations (the sign of the z score tells you whether a score is above or below the mean). Here is the formula:
Properties of z scores:
The mean of a complete set of z scores is always 0, and its standard deviation will always be 1.0.
Converting a set of raw scores into z scores will not change the shape of the distribution at all.
However, z scores are especially helpful when used in conjunction with a normal distribution.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

2. Try This Example of Computing z Scores:
Jan just received three midterm grades (see table below). Which grade is asso-ciated with the highest z score?
To get you started, here is the calculation of the first z score:
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

3. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
T Scores
Transform z scores into T scores, which follow a distribution with mean = 50 and σ = 10, using this formula:
In the table below, first find the z score for each subject, and then the T score. We will get you started by calculating z and T for Alice:
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

4. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
SAT Scores
Transform z scores into SAT scores, which follow a distribution with mean = 500 and σ = 100, using this formula:
In the table below, find the SAT score for each subject. You can use the z scores you calculated for the previous slide.
Note that, traditionally, T scores have been used as a way to standardize the scores from psychological tests, whereas SAT and related scores have been used by ETS, and other companies that administer standardized aptitude and achievement/ability tests.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

5. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
IQ Scores
You can transform z scores into Stanford- Binet IQ scores, which follow a distribu- tion with mean = 100 and σ = 16, using this formula:
In the table below, find the IQ score for each subject. You can use the z scores you calculated for the T or SAT scores.
To find WAIS IQ scores instead, multiply the z score by 15, instead of 16. For Alice, the WAIS IQ score would be
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

6. The Normal Distribution
It is the most commonly used theo-retical distribution in psychological research.
It is unimodal and symmetric, and its tails extend infinitely in both the positive and negative directions.
It is described as bell-shaped, but it is defined by a specific mathemati-cal equation.
It arises frequently, in an approxi-mate form, in nature.
When the area under the normal curve is used to determine proport-ions of the population, the whole area is defined as 1.0 (or 100%).
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

7. Parameters of the Normal Distribution
The normal distribution is actually a family of distributions each defined by two parameters: the mean and the standard deviation.
Two normal distributions can have different means and the same standard deviation; the same mean and different standard deviations; or they can differ on both parameters.
However, all normal distributions have the same shape.
The standard normal distribution has the following parameters: μ = 0, and σ = 1. It arises whenever you trans-form all the scores in any normal distribution into z scores.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

8. Areas Under the Normal Distribution
There is a table of the standard normal distribution that tells us the exact area under the normal curve, as a proportion of the total, between the mean and any z score, to two decimal places.
In the figure below, you can see the areas corresponding to z scores of 1, 2, and 3, on both sides of the distribution.
There is a table to determine the exact area under the curve
This area is the probability of a particular event
z scores
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

9. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Finding the Area Above a Positive z Score or Below a Negative z Score:
Find the percent area between the mean and the given z score in Table A of your text.
Subtract that percentage from 100.
Divide by 100 to convert to a proportion or probability.
Finding the Area Below a Positive z Score or Above a Negative z Score:
Find the percent area between the mean and the given z score in Table A of your text.
Add 50 to that percentage.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

10. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Finding the z Score Corresponding to a Given Area in the Positive Tail of the Normal Distribution
Ex., What z score does a student need in order to be among the highest 12% of scores?
The area you want is not between the mean and z, it is above z, so subtract the given percent from For this example, the area you are looking for is – =
Look in the body of Table A for the percent area that comes closest to the area calculated in the previous step, and read off the corresponding z score.
For this example, the z score that cuts off the top 12% falls midway between 1.17 and 1.18, so the answer is that the student needs a z score that is at least to be in the top 12% of the distri-bution.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

11. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Finding the z Score Corresponding to a Given Area in the Negative Tail of the Normal Distribution
Ex., Below what z score does the lowest 8% of the normal distribution fall?
The area you want is not between the mean and z, it is below z, so subtract the given percent from For this example, the area you are looking for is – 8.00 =
For this example, the z score that cuts off the top 8% falls midway between 1.40 and 1.41, so the answer for the top 8% would be
Because you are looking for the bottom 8%, place a minus sign in front of the z score you found in the previous step – i.e., 8% of the normal distribution is below a z score of –1.405.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

12. Areas in the Middle of the Normal Distribution
It is often useful to know the z scores that enclose a given amount of area in the middle of the normal distribution— e.g., the middle 80%.
The area you need to find in the body of Table A is half of that area — in this case,
The z score that comes closest to containing 40.00% between the mean and z is 1.28.
Because of the symmetry of the normal distribution, the two z scores that enclose the middle 80% are (approximately) –1.28 and
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

13. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Sampling Distribution of the Mean
The mean of the sampling distribution of the mean is the same as the population mean.
The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the mean: standard error of the mean
Is smaller than the standard deviation of the population distribution
Extreme scores are more likely than extreme means, so the distribution of means will be less variable than the population.
As N increases, sample means are clustered more closely and the standard error gets smaller.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

14. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Sampling Distribution Versus Population Distribution
The sampling distribution is normal if the population distribution is normal.
The sampling distribution will approach normal even if the population distribution is not normal (if N is large enough— Central Limit Theorem).
Mean will be the same as population distribution, but the variability is less (smaller standard error).
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

15. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Describing Groups
You can use z scores to find the location of one group with respect to all other groups of the same size.
Must use the sampling distribution of the mean for groups.
Need to determine the z score and then find the area (proportion).
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen

16. For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen
Ex., Suppose we know that the average weight of 6th grade boys is normally distributed with  = 99 lbs and  = 4 lbs. What is the probability of obtaining a sample mean (with N = 25) of less than 98 lbs?
Ex., A beverage company sets its bottling machinery to put a  = 16.5 oz of ice tea in each bottle, with a  = 0.5 oz. The ice tea is sold by in 6-packs. We assume that each of the bottles in a 6-pack is a random sample. What percentage of 6-packs have a mean bottle amount of 17 oz or more?
These are questions about means, not individuals.
Chapter 4
For Explaining Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. by B. Cohen