Final answer:
The mean is the value that is strongly influenced by a minimal number of extreme scores. Unlike the median and mode, the mean can be significantly affected by extreme values, skewing it in their direction. Standard deviation indicates the spread or variability of the data.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mean value is calculated by taking the sum of all data points and dividing by the total count. If there are any unusually high or low values, these outliers can strongly affect the mean, causing it to skew in the direction of the extreme values. Let's consider a simplified example. If we have the numbers 5, 6, 7, 90, the mean would be (5+6+7+90)/4 = 27. This clearly illustrates how the extreme value 90 strongly pushes the mean upward compared to the median (6.5) and mode (there is no mode in this case).
On the other hand, the median and mode are not affected by extreme values. The median is the middle point of a data set, so it does not change when the highest or lowest values change. The mode, which is the most frequently occurring value, is also unaffected by extreme values unless they occur most frequently.
The standard deviation is a measure of the spread of data and gives an indication of any possible outliers, it represents the dispersion or spread of data points around the mean. The higher the standard deviation, the more the data is spread out, indicating more variability.
Learn more about Mean and Outliers