What is the effect of outliers on the mode?

The correct understanding regarding the mode in the context of outliers is that outliers do not affect the mode of a dataset. The mode is defined as the value that appears most frequently within a set of data. Since outliers are extreme values that differ significantly from the rest of the data, they typically do not influence the frequency of the most commonly occurring value unless they themselves are part of a larger frequency of occurrence.

In other words, the presence of an outlier will not increase the frequency of any particular value if that value does not also occur frequently in the dataset. Hence, even if an outlier exists, the mode remains determined by the most frequently occurring data point, which could remain unchanged.

While the other options suggest varying degrees of influence of outliers on the mode, it is important to note that, by definition, the mode remains unaffected by the values that are infrequent or extreme. Thus, the assertion that outliers do not impact the mode stands as the correct interpretation.