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A psychologist sets a threshold for statistical significance in their study to ensure a high probability of making a correct decision. If their empirical study fails to confirm the hypothesis, apply the concept of probabilistic statistics to explain what they should conclude about the overarching scientific theory.
Question: A psychologist sets a threshold for statistical significance in their study to ensure a high probability of making a correct decision. If their empirical study fails to confirm the hypothesis, apply the concept of probabilistic statistics to explain what they should conclude about the overarching scientific theory.
Sample answer: The psychologist should conclude that the theory is not necessarily disproved by this single study. Because statistics are probabilistic and findings can reflect Type II errors, failing to confirm a hypothesis does not provide absolute certainty that the underlying theory is false.
Key points:
- Disconfirming a hypothesis does not mean the scientific theory has been definitively disproved.
- The failure to find significance could be due to chance or a statistical error, such as a Type II error.
- Conclusions from a single study lack absolute certainty because of the probabilistic nature of statistics.
Feedback: Correct. Even when setting a specific threshold to minimize error, the probabilistic nature of statistics means that a single disconfirming study could be the result of a statistical error (like a Type II error) rather than absolute proof that the theory is wrong.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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