The null hypothesis is the hypothesis of no difference, while the hypothesis is what you expect to occur, right? So, what if what you expect to occur is the null? Can you do this? For example,
Null: Mice prefer areas along the wall and areas along the edges equally.
Hypothesis: Mice show no preference for either area because their lack of explorative behavior and risk-taking nature will cancel each other out.
☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ٩(●ᴗ●)۶☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
Yes, you are correct that the null hypothesis assumes no difference or no effect, while the alternative hypothesis (or simply hypothesis) suggests a specific expectation or difference. In your example, the null hypothesis states that mice prefer areas along the wall and areas along the edges equally.
However, it seems that the hypothesis you provided does not align with the null hypothesis. The hypothesis you mentioned states that "Mice show no preference for either area because their lack of explorative behavior and risk-taking nature will cancel each other out." This hypothesis suggests that there is no difference in preference between wall areas and edge areas, which actually aligns with the null hypothesis rather than being an alternative to it.
Ideally, the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis should be complementary and mutually exclusive, meaning that they should cover all possible outcomes. In this case, a complementary alternative hypothesis to your null hypothesis could be:
Alternative Hypothesis: Mice show a preference for either areas along the wall or areas along the edges due to their explorative behavior and risk-taking nature.
With this alternative hypothesis, you would have a clear comparison between the null hypothesis of no difference and the alternative hypothesis suggesting a difference or preference.