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Probability and Significance

Probability and significance are very important in relation to statistical testing. Probability refers to the likelihood of an event occurring. It can be expressed as a number (0.5) or a percentage (50%). Statistical tests allow psychologists to work out the probability that their results could have occurred by chance, and in general psychologists use a probability level of 0.05. This means that there is a 5% probability that the results occurred by chance.