Professor: Howard B. Lee
Lecture Notes
Week 7 : Chapter 7

Lecture 15
Inferential Statistics
Hypothesis Testing:
There are 2 types of hypothesis:
Null hypothesis ("=") - points directly to something (one value)
Alternative hypothesis - indirect, points to an infinite number
of values
This is the research hypothesis
Research hypothesis is what you want to show is true,
but cannot be done directly
Here are the indirect steps to show that Research Hypothesis
is true
1. Assume null hypothesis is true
2. Build up evidence to demonstrate the null hypothesis is not true
if there's enough evidence, you can conclude that the
Null Hypothesis is false
Ex. Coin Example
1. Assume null is true [coin is fair]
- expect 50% heads, 5% tails
2. Evidence
[toss coin 10 times] - observed 9 heads
we will say null hypothesis is false because the observed result
is too far away from the expected.
What is too far away?
If the probability of observing 9 heads out of 10 tosses occurs
less than 5% of the time. < 0.05
Fair = .05
Unfair < .05
If coin is actually fair, to observe 9 heads in 10 tosses is a small
number. less than .05, then we can conclude that the initial
assumption that the "coin is fair" is false
If have problem understanding this concept: think of this mechanically:
null hypothesis (exact one)
alternative hypothesis (inexact)
research hypothesis
Binomial - translate above to a binomial.
coin is fair = Null hypothesis : probability of heads
PH = .5
coin is unfair = Alternative hypothesis :
probability of heads PH
not equal to .5 (this can take on infinite # of values)
PH = (probability of head)
* If you can demonstrate PH = .5 is not true,
you know PH not equal to .5 is true.
Here are the steps you should take:
Set up:
Null hypothesis:
Alternative hypothesis: h1:
ho: PH = .5
h1: PH not equal to .5
Probability of Type I error = alpha = level of significance = .05
Calculate a test statistic:
Then you need a decision rule
Decision Rule:
test statistic <= .05
reject null hypothesis [reject ho)
Sufficient Evidence to say ho is not true >
test statistic > .05
do not reject ho, there is insufficient evidence
to say ho is not true
Ex. Coin...is it fair?
ho:PH = .5
h1: PH not equal to .5
(Re: PH not equal to .5 has indefinite values
PH < .5. PH > .5)
alpha=.05
test statistic: Calculated using Binomial Formula (Equation. 7.1 text)
n! x n-x
------------- p (1-p)
x! ( n-x)!
For this Example:
n = # of trials [# coin tosses) n= 10
x = # of times came up heads x=9
p = probability given in the null hypothesis p= .5
1-p =1- probability given 1-p = 1-.5 =.5
n! = n factorial n!=10!
whatever n is, you multiply by next integer so 10!
lower than that, until you get to 1 = l0x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1
x! = x factorial 9! = 9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1
(n-x)! = (# trials - # times head)! (n-x)! = (10-9)! = (1)! =1
If you ever have :
0! = 1 1! =1
Now plug into formula 7.1 for test statistic:
10! 9 10-9 (10x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1) 9 1
----------- (.5) (.5) = ------------------------- (.5) (.5)
9!(10-9)! (9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1)(1)
you don' t have to multiply each #. It's easier if you can bracket
it off and then cancel like terms (in bold face) .
10x(9!) 9 1 9 1
---------- (.5) (.5) = 10(.5) (.5)
9! (1)
if the base number is the same, you can add up the exponents!
10
=10 (.5) =10(.00098) = .0098
* If h1 has "not equal to" we must multiply
the results by 2, then we can use this number in the decision rule
* If h1 has ">" or "<" just use the result
"as-is" for the decision rule.
·
Notice in Example:
h1: PH
not equal to .5 -> so multiply .098 by 2
= 2 x .0098
= .0196
* Decision Rule e: Reject null hypothesis (0) if test statistic < .05
otherwise do not reject ho
REJECT ho, since test statistic = .0196 is less than .05 ,
i.e., .0196 < .05
Reject ho because we have evidence that the null hypothesis
is not true , we have evidence that coin is not fair.
Why? .0196 = .02 says that there is a 2% chance that a
fair coin would give you 9 heads in 10 tosses. so it's unlikely
the coin will be fair
PH >.5
PH <.5 is a one tailed test - if each of these are by itself
PH not equal to .5 is a two tailed test (two directions)
Ex. T - maze
Food Sex
Left Right
| |
rat
Binomial - Two admissible outcomes
Let the rat run n =12 trials
x = # of right turns = 8
PR (Probability of right turn)= .5
ho: there is no preference for food or sex
PR not equal to .5
h1 there is a preference for food or sex.
Common mistakes on the Quiz
#2) Zy = rZx This is the Standard Score equation
don' t confuse it with
SDy
y' = r ----- x This is the Deviation score equation
SDx
* Just because the Standard Deviation is given,
it doesn' t mean you have to use it.
* Don' t get fooled by excess information
I. Binomial Equation
n! x n-x
----------- p (1-p)
x! ( n-x)!
This equation gives you the probability of obtaining
exactly x " event" in n trials.
Ex. n= 10 coin tosses
x = 8 heads
PH ( probability of heads) = .5
( will always be .5 unless otherwise specified)
- expect heads to come up 1/2 of the time.
So you want to determine the probability of obtaining exactly
8 heads in ten coin tosses the notation to use is:
P( x = 8)=
10! 8 10-8 (10x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1) 8 2 (10)(9) 10
---------- (.5) (.5) = ----------------------- (.5) (.5) = -------- (.5)
8!(10-8)! (8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1)(2x1) 2
= 45 ( .0009765) = .0439
What this means is that you can expect to obtain 8 heads in
10 tosses 4.39% of the time.
Practice Quiz
#l) In a binomial experiment, a coin is tossed 26 times.
The coin is biased in favor of tails in that 62% of the
time it will come up tails. If x is the number of tails,
Find P( x=12).
n= 26
Pr= .62 ( Probability of tails)
x = 12 tails
What is the probability of getting exactly 12 tails?
P( x= 12)
26! 12 26-12
----------- (.62) (1-.62) = .3125
12!(26-12)!
#2) In research disciplines outside the behavioral
sciences, the maximum tolerable probability of a type
I error in a hypothesis test is
a) .05 b) .01 c) either .05 or .01 d) both .05 and .01
e) not necessarily .05 or .0l
Answer: E, not necessarily .05 because .05 is only used in
Behavioral Sciences ·
#3) In determining whether a coin is fair or unfair, an
experimenter tosses it twenty times. The results of
this experiment was 11 tails. The experimenter
concludes that the coin is fair. The experimenter
could be making
a) a type I error b) a type II error c) both a) and b) d) a) or b)
e) none of the above.
Answer: b a type II error because n= 20, x=11, " it's fair!"