Null hypothesis significance testing uses the laws of probability to estimate the likelihood of an outcome by first assuming that
A) the null hypothesis is false.
B) an effect of an independent variable is present.
C) the population means are different.
D) only chance factors caused the outcome.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Null hypothesis significance testing assumes that only chance factors caused the outcome. The null hypothesis is assumed to be true initially, and the probability of observing the results if the null hypothesis were true is calculated. If this probability is low enough, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of an alternative hypothesis. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Null Hypothesis Significance Testing Uses the Laws of Probability to Estimate