Type I error

the error of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is in fact true. Investigators make this error when they believe they have detected an effect or a relationship that does not actually exist. The projected probability of committing a Type I error is called the significance level or alpha (α) level. Also called alpha error; rejection error.

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Psychology term of the day

February 23rd 2025

vacuum activity

in classical ethology, the occurrence of a fixed action pattern in the absence of the usual external stimulus (the releaser, or sign stimulus) that triggers the pattern. This is believed to be caused by a build-up of action-specific or motivational energy that overrides the innate releasing mechanism. Also called vacuum response. [proposed by Konrad Lorenz]