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We need statistical thinking, not statistical rituals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 1998

Gerd Gigerenzer
Affiliation:
Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germanygigerenzer@mpib-berlin.mpg.de

Abstract

What Chow calls NHSTP is an inconsistent hybrid of Fisherian and Neyman-Pearsonian ideas. In psychology it has been practiced like ritualistic handwashing and sustained by wishful thinking about its utility. Chow argues that NHSTP is an important tool for ruling out chance as an explanation for data. I disagree. This ritual discourages theory development by providing researchers with no incentive to specify hypotheses.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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