Does setting alpha at .01, rather than at .05, increase or decrease the likelihood of rejecting Ho?
If alpha error is .01, you will reject Ho 1 out of 100 times by chance. If alpha error is .05, you will reject Ho 5 out of 100 times by chance.
Thanks!
To understand how setting the alpha level affects the likelihood of rejecting the null hypothesis (Ho), let's first clarify the concept of alpha.
Alpha, denoted as α, is the significance level in hypothesis testing that determines the threshold for accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis. It represents the probability of making a Type I error, which occurs when you reject the null hypothesis when it is actually true.
Now, the question asks whether setting alpha at 0.01 (smaller value) rather than at 0.05 (larger value) increases or decreases the likelihood of rejecting Ho. When you set a smaller alpha level, it reduces the threshold for accepting the alternative hypothesis (Ha) and becomes more conservative. This means that you will require stronger evidence to reject the null hypothesis, resulting in a lower likelihood of rejecting Ho.
In summary, setting alpha at 0.01 compared to 0.05 decreases the likelihood of rejecting the null hypothesis.