Central tendency bias causes ratings to

• A. Be around the middle of the scale
• B. Be weighted toward extremes
• C. Be random across the scale
• D. Be concentrated at the top

Answer: (A)

Central tendency bias makes people gravitate toward the middle of a rating scale rather than expressing strong opinions. On a typical Likert scale, this shows up as a clustering around the neutral point (for example, lots of middle numbers). This happens because respondents may be unsure, want to appear balanced, or find extreme options harder to justify, and it reduces the apparent variation in the data. The other patterns—extreme ratings, random spread, or a concentration at the top—are different issues and don’t describe central tendency bias.