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Psychology vocabulary · Research Methods and Statistics

Hypothesis

Meaning in psychology, with examples

/haɪˈpɒθəsɪs/nounCore term

In psychology, hypothesis means: A clear, testable prediction about the relationship between variables, usually based on a theory or earlier findings, that a study is designed to check.

In Turkish: hipotez, denence

How it is used

Central in research papers and lab reports. Researchers state, test, support or reject a hypothesis, and statistics texts talk about the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. The plural is hypotheses.

Example sentences

  1. Our hypothesis was that sleep deprivation would impair working memory.

  2. The results supported the first hypothesis but not the second.

Common collocations

  • test a hypothesis
  • null hypothesis
  • support the hypothesis
  • reject the hypothesis
  • experimentA study in which the researcher deliberately changes one factor and measures the effect on another, while keeping other conditions as constant as possible.
  • independent variableThe factor that a researcher deliberately changes or compares in a study to see whether it causes changes in another variable.
  • statistical significanceA sign that a result would be unlikely if there were really no effect, usually judged by whether the p-value falls below a set level such as .05.
  • replicateTo repeat a study, usually with new participants, to see whether the original findings appear again; a finding that appears again is also said to replicate.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Research Methods and Statistics

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