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Comparison of Mode, Median, and Mean While all three of these measures of Central Tendency describe the middle or center or typical score within a distribution, they are different in many ways. First, the mode is the crudest measure of central tendency as it is affected by only one score within a distribution -- i.e. the score that occurs most often. Likewise, the median is affected by only one score -- i.e. the middle score within a distribution. In marked contrast, the mean is the most sensitive measure of central tendency, as all scores within a distribution affect its magnitude. Consider the following two distributions:
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