Arslan, Aran and Zenker, Frank (2024) Cohen’s Convention, the Seriousness of Errors, and the Body of Knowledge in Behavioral Science. Synthese, 204. ISSN 1573-0964

Text Arslan & Zenker 2024 Cohens Convention 20240818_philsci-archive.pdf - Accepted Version Download (566kB)

Abstract

An often-cited convention for discovery-oriented behavioral science research states that the general relative seriousness of the antecedently accepted false positive error rate of α = .05 be mirrored by a false negative error rate of β = .20. In 1965, Jacob Cohen proposed this convention to decrease a β-error typically in vast excess of .20. Thereby, we argue, Cohen (unintentionally) contributed to the wide acceptance of strongly uneven error rates in behavioral science. Although Cohen’s convention can appear epistemically reasonable for an individual researcher, the comparatively low probability that published effect size estimates are replicable renders his convention unreasonable for an entire scientific field. Appreciating Cohen’s convention helps to understand why even error rates (α = β) are “non-conventional” in behavioral science today, and why Cohen’s explanatory reason for β = .20—that resource restrictions keep from collecting larger samples—can easily be mistaken for the justificatory reason it is not.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Arslan, Aran ararslan@gmail.com 0000-0002-3014-6532 Zenker, Frank fzenker@gmail.com 0000-0001-7173-7964
Keywords:	false positive and false negative test results; inductive risk; null hypothesis significance testing; type I and type II error; utility; value-free science
Subjects:	General Issues > Data Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Comparative Psychology and Ethology General Issues > Confirmation/Induction General Issues > Conventionalism Specific Sciences > Psychology > Developmental Psychology Specific Sciences > Economics General Issues > Evidence General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Judgment and Decision Making Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Psychology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Social Psychology Specific Sciences > Sociology General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Frank Zenker
Date Deposited:	07 Dec 2024 13:45
Last Modified:	07 Dec 2024 13:45
Item ID:	24374
Journal or Publication Title:	Synthese
Publisher:	Springer (Springer Science+Business Media B.V.)
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/journal/11229
DOI or Unique Handle:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-024-04753-2
Subjects:	General Issues > Data Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Comparative Psychology and Ethology General Issues > Confirmation/Induction General Issues > Conventionalism Specific Sciences > Psychology > Developmental Psychology Specific Sciences > Economics General Issues > Evidence General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Judgment and Decision Making Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Psychology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Social Psychology Specific Sciences > Sociology General Issues > Values In Science
Date:	18 August 2024
Volume:	204
ISSN:	1573-0964
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24374

Available Versions of this Item

• Cohen’s Convention, the Seriousness of Errors, and the Body of Knowledge in Behavioral Science. (deposited 21 Aug 2024 10:36)
  • Cohen’s Convention, the Seriousness of Errors, and the Body of Knowledge in Behavioral Science. (deposited 07 Dec 2024 13:45) [Currently Displayed]

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Altmetric.com

Actions (login required)

View Item