Explain one strength and one weakness of using standard deviations in psychology
• Strength: A key strength of using standard deviation is that it is a precise measure of dispersion, as it takes into account every score in the data set, not just the highest and lowest values. This gives a more accurate reflection of variability than the range.
• Weakness: A weakness is that standard deviation can hide the presence of extreme scores (outliers), as the squaring process spreads their impact across the dataset. This might lead to misleading conclusions about consistency if there are anomalies in the data.
