Question

Assume that a new treatment for helping alcoholics isn't any better than an old treatment. A researcher, who doesn't know this, designs a study to compare the effectiveness of the two treatments. Based on the results of the study the researcher rejects the Null Hypothesis. What outcome has occurred?

O scientific validation

O type I error

O type II error

O correct rejection

Answer 1

A Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected, which is the case when a researcher mistakenly believes a new treatment is better than an old one. The correct answer in this scenario is option 2. Type I error.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a researcher rejects the null hypothesis in a study comparing two treatments for alcoholism, believing the new treatment to be better when in actuality it is no better than the old treatment, the outcome that has occurred is a Type I error.

A Type I error happens when a true null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected, meaning the researcher concludes that there is a difference when there isn't one. This is a significant error because it may lead to the adoption of an ineffective treatment. On the other hand, a Type II error would occur if the researcher failed to reject a false null hypothesis, incorrectly concluding no difference when there is one.

In this scenario, the correct option in the final answer is Type I error.