Hypothesis testing is a systematic procedure used to determine if sample data supports a theory about a population. It involves stating the null and alternative hypotheses, determining significance levels, computing test statistics, and making a decision to reject or retain the null hypothesis based on the results. An example tested the relationship between student performance on psychology tests and their attitude towards psychology. Hypothesis testing steps were followed: the null hypothesis stated no relationship, the alternative stated a relationship; significance was set at 5%; degrees of freedom and critical values were calculated; the computed test statistic was less than critical so the null hypothesis of no relationship was retained. Hypothesis testing helps researchers make decisions about data while accounting for probability of decision

1. Hypothesis Testing ELESTA1

12. Illustration Z=2.03, r=.161 Z=1.38r=.11 2.5% region of rejection 95% 2.5% region of rejection

14. Decision error Type II error β Study inconclusive Do not reject H0 Type I error α H1 is supported Reject Ho Real situation H1 is true Real situation H0 is true