Bayesian Hypothesis Testing: An Alternative to Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) in Psychology and Social Sciences

Abstract

Since the mid-1950s, there has been a clear predominance of the Frequentist approach to hypothesis testing, both in psychology and in social sciences. Despite its popularity in the field of statistics, Bayesian inference is barely known and used in psychology. Frequentist inference, and its null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), has been hegemonic through most of the history of scientific psychology. However, the NHST has not been exempt of criticisms. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to introduce a Bayesian approach to hypothesis testing that may represent a useful complement, or even an alternative, to the current NHST. The advantages of this Bayesian approach over Frequentist NHST will be presented, providing examples that support its use in psy- chology and social sciences. Conclusions are outlined.