In probability theory and statistics, a central moment is a moment of a probability distribution of a random variable about the random variable's mean; that is, it is the expected value of a specified integer power of the deviation of the random variable from the mean. The various moments form one set of values by which the properties of a probability distribution can be usefully characterised. Central moments are used in preference to ordinary moments, computed in terms of deviations from the mean instead of from the zero, because the higher-order central moments relate only to the spread and shape of the distribution, rather than also to its location.