The Importance of Normal Distribution

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Vandrea Doran Normal Distribution Curve is Important Mid-Continent University Dr. K. Roach Behavioral Statistics November 22, 2008 There are few things in this world that can make a person say “huh.” One of these would be the normal distribution curve. Most people would have no idea about the subject of normal distribution curves and its importance unless they had studied statistics. There are also those who did take a statistics class in college, and they still do not understand it. Honestly, no one can blame them; it is a subject that might as well be explained in Greek for all the understanding some students have of it. To understand its importance in psychology is even more difficult. However, after a bit of research, it is possible to have some slight understanding of the normal distribution curve and its importance. To understand its importance though, it is crucial to understand what the normal distribution curve is. The normal distribution curve has several names that it is referred to: bell curve, Gaussian distribution, and theoretical distribution (Janeba, Urdan, Dean/Illowsky). It is referred to as the bell curve due to its bell shape seen in the picture below (Janeba). [pic] Some staticians refer to the normal distribution curve as the Gaussian distribution, adequately named after Carl Friedrick Gauss (Janeba). Gauss was a mathematician, considered to be one of the greatest, who discovered many of the properties of the normal distribution curve (Janeba). He holds a place of honor in Germany by being on their ten Deutschmark bill alongside a picture of the normal distribution curve and the formula for it (Janeba). Statisticians also refer to the curve as the theoretical distribution curve (Urdan). The normal distribution curve is referred to as this because it rarely, if ever gets a set of scores from an

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