My favorite way to illustrate the difference between expected and observed values is to use US Senate data on gender distribution. Why this data? There are 100 senators, two from each state. Gender is randomly distributed. So, comparing the observed data (the actual number of women senators) to the expected value of 50 senators is a pretty intuitive, easy-to-follow example. I then immediately discuss the same O vs. E discrepancy with the House of Representatives data, which doesn't start on a nice, neat scale of 100. I have to update this every two years to stay current. If you use this example, this might be a good time to update your own lecture. I use data and visualizations from Rutergers Center for American Women and Politics . The purple bar represents the total number of women in the Senate and House of Representatives as of January 2027.

Agree to Disagree is a regular feature on LADBible.  This series pairs up two celebrities who are typically on a promotional tour for a new movie or show. The interviewer gives them a series of questions, and they need to use a Likert-type scale printed on a table and glasses (sometimes containing booze) to make their response. For example, here is an Agree to Disagree segment featuring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishshaw , who are promoting the second season of Black Doves on Netflix. PS: I LOVED THE FIRST SEASON OF BLACK DOVES. So, it starts with a question: Then the "participants" give their response on a Likert-type scale.  Then they discuss their responses. PS: Keira swears like a sailor. How to use in class: 1) This might be the only entertaining way ever to introduce Likert-type scales. ALSO: If you really want to nerd it up, you can have a class discussion about scales with   no neutral point . 2) I also like this as an example of a mixed-methods survey. The pe...

These screenshots come from the Netflix adaptation of the book The Love Hypothesis . And they are the cheesiest way ever to describe Type I and Type II errors.  1. Screenshots courtesy of my pal Dr. Jordan Wagge. 2. I dramatically read this interaction to my class and recommend that you do the same. If this idea was helpful, you'll probably enjoy my textbook, Psychological Statistics for Everyone . It's basically this blog, but organized into a semester.