Introductory Data Slides
Psych U1 LE4 Unit 1: Foundations of Psychology
Bell Ringer
GET STARTED
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1
Grab your spiral from the class tray.
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Check the paper tray for today's handouts.
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Check the Turn-It-In Bin for graded papers.
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In your spiral, write the date, Unit 1, Lesson 4, and Understanding Psychological Data.
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Complete the Bell Ringer.
Time Limit
Write & observe
10:00
Find the Human Story
Five students report sleeping 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours last night.
4
5
6
7
8
Without doing any complicated math, what do these numbers tell us about the sleep experiences of these five actual people?
🧠 Every number is a human life!
Brainy
Ready for Class!
Unit 1: Foundations of Psychology
Lesson 4
Understanding Psychological Data
Numbers tell stories about people. Psychologists collect data to understand real human experiences.
The Data Pipeline
1. Humans (Habits, stress, fear)
2. Raw Numbers (5, 7, 7, 8...)
3. Human Story Decoded!
Detective Brainy
Investigating behavioral clues...
Learning Roadmap Unit 1 • Lesson 4
Learning Target
"I can use simple statistics to describe and interpret data in order to understand the real human experiences behind the numbers."
Essential Question
"How do psychologists turn a messy list of numbers into a clear, meaningful story about real people?"
Today's Journey
RAW DATA ORGANIZE DESCRIBE UNDERSTAND PEOPLE
Step 1
Raw Data
Psychologists measure real human feelings or behaviors using numbers.
Step 2
Organize
A giant list of random numbers is messy and hard to read.
Step 3
Describe
We find the typical scores and see how similar or different people are.
Step 4
Understand
We explain what the numbers actually tell us about human lives!
Psych U1 LE4 The Human Connection
Slide 4
STOP. WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?
Psychologists study PEOPLE—not numbers. Statistics help psychologists understand what research tells us about people's thoughts, feelings, experiences, and behavior.
Imagine a psychologist studies:
- • How much teenagers sleep on school nights
- • Whether phone use affects attention spans
- • Whether scary movies increase physical anxiety
- • Whether people behave differently when watched
- • Whether chronic stress harms long-term memory
Looking at 300 random answers doesn't tell us much. Statistics help turn those numbers into a story we can understand about the people in the study.
THE CENTRAL QUESTION:
“WHAT STORY ARE THESE NUMBERS TELLING US ABOUT PEOPLE?”
That is why statistics belong in psychology.
Remember
We are NOT learning statistics just to do math. We use them to understand what research tells us about PEOPLE.
Psych U1 LE4 Finding the Center
Slide 5
What is "typical"?
Mini-Study: Dating Anxiety
A psychologist asks 10 students: "On a scale of 1–10, how nervous would you feel asking someone you like on a date?"
5 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 10 10
Psychologists can use measures of central tendency to describe what seems typical in a group.
Mean
The Average
Median
The Middle
Mode
Most Common
💡 None of these is "always" correct! Which measure is useful depends on the data and what the psychologist wants to understand about the people.
Spiral Stop
Answer in your spiral notebook:
Why might ONE number (like an average) be easier to understand than a list of 100 people's scores?
Sentence stem: "One number can help psychologists see _________."
Measures of Central Tendency
Ways of finding a single number that represents the center or "typical" value in a dataset.
Psych U1 LE4 Measures of Central Tendency
Slide 6
Mean — What's the average?
Mini-Study: Music & Concentration
A psychologist records how many concentration tasks 5 students complete while listening to music:
3 5 6 7 9
The Tool in Action:
1. ADD THEM
3+5+6+7+9 = 30
2. COUNT THEM
We studied 5 students
3. DIVIDE
30 ÷ 5 = 6
🎯 MEAN = 6 tasks
SO WHAT?
What does 6 tell us about the people?
"On average, students working with music completed 6 concentration tasks."
Mean = Balance
CALCULATE IT ➜ EXPLAIN WHAT IT MEANS!
Quick Quiz
For the dataset 2, 4, and 6 tasks, what is the mean? What does that tell us about their focus?
Psych U1 LE4 Measures of Central Tendency
Slide 7
Median & Mode: Middle and Most
Let's study anxiety ratings (scale 1-10) of students after watching a scary True Crime documentary.
Median The Middle
Median = Put the numbers in order and find the exact center.
Step 1: Order scores ➜ 3, 5, 6, 7, 9
Step 2: Find midpoint ➜ 3, 5, [6], 7, 9
SO WHAT? MEDIAN = 6
"6 is the middle fear rating: two students scored lower and two scored higher."
Mode Most Common
Mode = Find the specific score that appears most frequently.
Fear ratings: 3, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 9
Identify the score with the most repeats: 6
SO WHAT? MODE = 6
"6 was the single most common anxiety level reported by the students."
Every calculation must connect back to people!
We look at the situation, see the data, use our tools, and then explain what the math tells us about real human feelings.
Typical Value
How did the group react overall?
Quick Quiz
In dataset 2, 4, 4, 5, 8 — what is the MODE? What does this mean about the group?
Psych U1 LE4 Measuring the Spread
Slide 8
Same Average, Different Story!
Knowing what seems typical is helpful. But psychologists also need to know how spread out the scores are.
A psychologist records phone checks during study time:
Group A Phone Checks:
5, 6, 6, 6, 7
Average = 6 phone checks
Group B Phone Checks:
2, 4, 6, 8, 10
Average = 6 phone checks
If I ONLY told you both groups averaged 6 phone checks, would you assume both groups behave the same?
NO! SAME AVERAGE ≠ SAME STORY.
Plain Language Story:
• Group A is packed close together: Phone checking was highly similar (5 to 7 times).
• Group B is all over the place: One student checked their phone only 2 times, while another checked 10 times.
Range = Highest Score − Lowest Score
• Group A Range: 7 − 5 = 2 (small spread)
• Group B Range: 10 − 2 = 8 (large spread)
Range = Spread
If we only knew the average, we'd miss the whole story!
Quick Quiz
Which group has more spread-out scores: a group with a range of 3 or a group with a range of 12?
Psych U1 LE4 Measuring the Spread
Slide 9
STANDARD DEVIATION — DON'T PANIC! 😂
You do NOT need to calculate standard deviation by hand. Your job is ONLY to interpret what it means.
Academic Vocabulary
Standard Deviation (SD)
A measure showing how overall scores are spread around the average. Unlike range, it looks at every single number.
Low Deviation
Close to Average
Most scores stay close to the average. The group is highly similar.
Group A: 5, 6, 6, 6, 7 (Mean=6)
High Deviation
Far from Average
Scores are widely scattered far from average. The group is highly different.
Group B: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (Mean=6)
Why Psychologists Care:
Two groups can have the exact same average but contain people having VERY different experiences. Standard deviation helps psychologists notice and measure that difference.
Memory Aid
LOW SD = CLOSE HIGH SD = SPREAD
Quick Quiz
If most scores are very close to the mean, would the standard deviation probably be LOW or HIGH? What does that tell us about the group?
Psych U1 LE4 Connecting the Tools
Slide 10
Put the Whole Story Together
Group A Profile
Data: 5, 6, 6, 6, 7
Mean = 6
Median = 6
Mode = 6
Range = 2
SD = LOW
What does that actually mean?
Most students check their phones around the same amount. Their habits were highly consistent and similar.
Group B Profile
Data: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
Mean = 6
Median = 6
Mode = None
Range = 8
SD = HIGH
What does that actually mean?
Students had wildly different checking habits. One student checked their phone only 2 times, while another checked 10 times.
The Big Idea
SAME AVERAGE
≠
SAME STORY
Mean / Median / Mode ➜ What seems typical?
Range / Standard Deviation ➜ How similar or different are the scores?
Interpretation ➜ What does this tell us about the PEOPLE?
Quick Quiz
Both groups have a mean of 6. What statistic shows us that Group B's scores are much more spread out, meaning they have very different experiences?
Psych U1 LE4 Independent Practice
Slide 11
Data Detective Practice
Apply these tools to our 2-page worksheet titled "Data Detective."
Directions:
- • Read each realistic psychological research scenario.
- • Calculate mean, median, mode, or range when prompted.
- • Interpret what those results actually tell us about the people.
- • For deviation questions, explain if scores are tight or spread. (No SD math required!)
💡 Stuck? Use Slides 4–10 and spiral notes for help.
Time Limit
20 Mins
Voice Level
Level 1
Work independently using your presentation slides and spiral notebook notes.
"DON'T JUST GET THE NUMBER. EXPLAIN WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THE STUDY."
Data Detective Mode
Let's solve the case!
Worksheet Target
Concept Target: Mean, Median, Mode, Range, and Standard Deviation (Interpretation Only).
Psych U1 LE4 Vocabulary Log
Slide 12
Lesson 4 Vocabulary
Choose exactly 4 words to define in your spiral:
1. Data
2. Descriptive Statistics
3. Mean
4. Median
5. Mode
6. Range
7. Standard Deviation
8. Measures of Central Tendency
💡 Definitions are located in today's glossary on the final slide!
Your Job:
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- Choose 4 vocabulary words from the list.
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- Write those 4 words in your spiral notebook.
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- Open your online Canvas portal.
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- Go to Modules and open today's slide presentation.
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- Go to the LAST SLIDE of today's deck.
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- Use that glossary slide to write definitions for your chosen 4 words.
Timer:
10:00
Note Taking
Writing in spiral...
Psych U1 LE4 Lesson Conclusion
Slide 13
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Make sure you have fully completed both parts of today's work:
PART 1
Vocabulary
Complete 4 vocabulary words + definitions in your spiral. Show your spiral to Ms. Cummings for checking.
PART 2
Worksheet
Complete the Data Detective worksheet. Turn it in to the Turn-It-In Bin.
Final Checklist:
- ✓ 4 vocab words + definitions complete
- ✓ Spiral checked by Ms. Cummings
- ✓ Data Detective turned in
- ✓ Return your spiral
Check Out
Verify both tasks are complete!
Psych U1 LE4 Glossary Slide
Slide 14
Glossary / Vocabulary Reference
Unit 1, Lesson 4 — All 8 Terms
1. Data
Information collected during research.
2. Descriptive Statistics
Tools used to organize and summarize collected data.
3. Mean
The average of all the numbers in a set of data.
4. Median
The middle number when the data are placed in order.
5. Mode
The number that appears most often in a set of data.
6. Range
The difference between the highest and lowest numbers in a set of data.
7. Standard Deviation
A measure showing how spread out scores are around the mean.
8. Measures of Central Tendency
Ways of finding a number that represents the center or typical value.
Use these definitions to complete your 4 chosen terms in your spiral notebook.
