Which of the following is a measure of central tendency?

• A. Mean
• B. Interquartile range
• C. Dispersion
• D. Deviation

Answer: (A)

Central tendency is about a single value that best represents where the data cluster. The mean does this by calculating the average: add up all the data points and divide by how many observations there are. This gives a balance point for the distribution and is the typical summary used for interval or ratio data, especially when the data aren’t extremely skewed.

The interquartile range, on the other hand, describes spread by capturing the range of the middle 50% of scores, not the center. Dispersion is a general term for how spread out the data are, including measures like variance and standard deviation, which describe variability rather than a central value. Deviation refers to how far individual values differ from a reference point (often the mean), which again relates to spread rather than identifying a central tendency.

Thus, the mean is the measure that represents the central tendency.