PSY321.

1
Psychological Assessment
PRELIM TERM
Resource Material

Module: z Scores and Normal Distribution

1. Learning Outcomes

2. Introduction to z-Scores

3. z-Scores and location in a distribution

4. Other relationships Between z, X, µ, and σ.

a. Using z-scores for making comparison

5. Other Standardized Distributions based on z-Scores

 z Scores and Normal Distribution

1.Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, student should be able to:

1. Describe the purposes of transforming X values into z-scores.

2. Explain a z-scores identifies the precise location in a distribution.

3. Apply either the z-score formula, transform X values into z-scores and transform z-scores into X values.

4. Describe how z-scores establish a relationship among raw scores, mean, standard deviation and the value of z, and use that

relationship to find an unknown mean when given a z-score, a score, and the standard deviation.
 z Scores and Normal Distribution

2. Introduction to z-Scores

A z-score (also called a standard score) gives you an idea of how far from the mean a data point is. But more technically it is a measure of how
many standard deviations below or above the population mean a raw score is. A z-score can be placed on a normal distribution curve. Z-scores
range from -3 standard deviations (which would fall to the far left of the normal distribution curve) up to +3 standard deviations (which would
fall to the far right of the normal distribution curve). To use a z-score, you need to know the mean (μ) and the standard deviation (σ).
Suppose you received a scores of X=76 on a statistics exam. How did you do? It should be clear that you need more information to predict your
grade. Your score of X=76 could be one of the best scores in the class, or it might be the lowest score in the distribution. To find the location of
your scores, you must have information about the other scores in the distribution. It will be useful to know the mean for the class. If the mean
were 76, you would be in a much better position that if the mean were 85. However, the mean by itself is not sufficient to tell you the exact
location of your score. Suppose you know that the mean for statistics exam is 70 and your scores is 76. At this point, you know that your scores
if 6 points above the mean, but you still do not know exactly where it is location.

Six points may be a relatively small distance and you are only slightly above the average. In the figure above, both distributions have a mean of
70, but for one distribution, the standard deviation is 3, and for the other, the SD is 12. The location of X=76 is highlighted in the distributions
above. When the SD is 3, your score is 76 is in the extreme right-hand tail, one of the highest scores in the distribution. However, in the other
distribution, where SD is 12, your score id only slightly above average. Thus, the relative location of your score within the distribution depends
on the standard deviation as well as the mean.
The purpose of z-score is to demonstrate that a score by itself does not necessarily provide much information about its position within a
distribution. To make raw scores more meaningful, they are often transformed into new values that contain more information. We transform X
values into z-scores so that the resulting z-scores tell exactly where the original scores are located.
 z Scores and Normal Distribution

3. z-Scores and location in a adistribution

One of the primary purposes of a z-score is to describe the exact location of a score within a distribution. The z-score accomplishes this goal by
transforming each X value into a signed number (+ or -) so that the sign tells whether the scores is located above (+) or below (-) the mean, and
the number tells the distance between the scores and the mean in terms of standard deviations.
Notice that a z-score always consists of two parts: a sign (+ or -) and a magnitude. Both parts are necessary to describe completely where a raw
score is located within a distribution.

The z-Score Formula

The z-score definition is adequate for transforming back and forth from X values to z-scores as longs as the arithmetic is easy to do in your
hand. For more complicated values, it is best to have an equation to help structure the calculations. Fortunately, the relationship between X
values and z-scores is easily expressed in formula. The formula for transforming scores into z-scores is z =

A distribution of scores has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 10. What z-score corresponds to a scores of X=130 in this distribution?
According to the definition, the z-score will have a value of +3 because the score is located above the mean by exactly 3 standard deviations.
 z Scores and Normal Distribution

4. Other relationships Between z, X, µ, and σ.

In most cases, we simply transform scores (X-values) into z-scores or change z-scores back into X values. However, you should realize
that a z- score establishes a relationship between the score, mean, and standard deviation. This relationship can be used to answer a
variety of different questions about scores and the distributions in which they are located (Gravetter & Wallnau, 2019).

Example 1. In a population mean of µ=70, a score X=64 corresponds to z= -2.00. What is the standard deviation for the population? To
answer the question, we begin with the z-score value. A z-score of -2.00 indicate that the corresponding scores is located below the
mean by a distance of 2 standard deviations. You also can determine that the score (X=64) is located below the mean (µ=65) by a
distance of 6 points.
Thus, 2 standard deviations correspond to a distance of 6 points, which means that 1 standard deviation must be σ= 3 points.

Example 2. In a population with a standard deviation of σ = 8, a score of X =32 corresponds to z = +1.50. What is the mean for the
population?
To answer the question, we begin with the z-score value. In this case, a z-score of +1.50 indicates that the score is located above the
mean by a distance corresponding to 1.50 standard deviation. With a standard deviation of σ = 8, this distance is (1.5)(8) = 12 points.
Thus the score is located 12 points above the mean. the scores is X = 32, so the mean must be µ = 20.

Example 3. In a population distribution, a score of X = 54 corresponds to z = +2.00 and score of X = 43 corresponds to z = -1.00. What
are the values for the mean and the standard deviation for the population?
The key to solving this kind of problem is to focus on the distance between the two scores. Notice that the distance can be measured in
points and in standard deviations. In points, the distance from X = 42 to X = 54 is 12 points. According to the z-scores, X=42 is located 1
standard deviation below the mean and X = 54, is located 2 standard deviations above the mean. Thus, the total distance between the
two scores is equal to 3 standard deviations. We have determined that the distance between the two scores is 12 points, which is equal
to 3 standard deviations. As an equation, 3? = 12 points, dividing both sides by 3, we obtain ? = 4 points. Thus, the population has a
mean of µ = 46 and a standard deviation of σ = 4.
 z Scores and Normal Distribution

4.1. Using z-scores for making comparisons

One disadvantage of standardizing distributions is that it makes it possible to compare different scores or different individuals even though they
come from completely different distributions. Normally, if two scores come from different distributions, it is possible to make any direct
comparison between them. Suppose for example, Bravo received a scores of X = 70 on a statistics exam and score of X = 58 on a science test. For
which course should Dave expect the better grade?
Because the scores come from two different distributions, you cannot make any direct comparison. Without additional information, it its even
impossible to determine whether Bravo is above or below the mean. Before making comparisons, you must know the values for the mean and
standard deviations for each distribution. Suppose the science scores had µ = 50, and σ = 4, and the statistics scores had µ = 60, and σ = 10.
With this information, you could now sketch and locate Bravo’s scores in distribution.
Instead of drawing two distributions, we simply compute the two z-scores to find the locations. For statistics exam, Bravo’s score is:

For Science exam, Bravo’s score is:

We cannot compare Dave’s two exam scores without any explanation coming from distributions, using z-Scores, we can clearly see for which
score is better among the distribution. In this example, Dave is doing much better in science class.

References

Donncha, Hanna and Dempster, Martin. (2012). Statistics for Dummies. Wiley.
Gravetter, F. J. and Wallnau, L. B. (2019). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
 z Scores and Normal Distribution

5. Other Standardized Distributions based on z-Scores

1. The original raw scores are transformed into z-scores.

2. The z-scores are then transformed into new X values so that the specific mean and standard deviation are attained. This process
ensures that each individual has exactly the same z-score location in the new distribution as in the original distribution.

Example (Gravetter & Wallnau, 2019).

An instructor gives an exam to a psychology class. For this exam, the distribution of raw scores has a mean of µ = 57, with σ = 4. The instructor
would like to simplify the distribution by transforming all scores into a new, standardized distribution with µ = 50, and σ = 10. To demonstrate
this process, we will consider what happens to two specific students: Maria, who has a raw score of X=64 in the original distribution; and Joe,
whose original raw score is X = 43.

Step 1: Transform each of the original raw scores into z-scores. For Maria, X = 64, so for her z-score is

For Joe, X = 43, and his z-score is

Remember: The values of µ and σ are for the distribution from which X was taken.

Step 2: Change each z-score into an X value in the new standardized distribution that has a mean of µ = 50, and standard deviation of σ = 10.

Maria’s z-score, z= +0.50, indicates that she is located above the mean by ½ standard deviation. In the new, standardized distribution, this
location corresponds to X = 55 (above the mean by 5 points).

Joe’s z-score, z = -1.00, indicates that he is located below the mean by exactly 1 standard deviation. In the new distribution, this location
corresponds to X = 40 (below the mean by 10 points).

The results of this two-step transformation process are summarized in the figure below. Note that Joe, for example, has exactly the same z-
score (z = -1.00) in both the original distribution and the new standardized distribution. This means that Joe’s position relative to the other
students in the class has not changed.

References

Donncha, Hanna and Dempster, Martin. (2012). Statistics for Dummies. Wiley.

Gravetter, F. J. and Wallnau, L. B. (2019). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.