Type I Error: Mistakenly Concluding a Treatment Works

A Type I error occurs when you incorrectly conclude that a treatment is effective when it actually isn't. This is also known as a false positive.

For example, if you were testing a new drug and found that it seemed to improve symptoms in a group of patients, but this improvement was actually due to chance, you would have committed a Type I error.

Type I errors can be very costly, as they can lead to the adoption of ineffective treatments. It's important to be aware of the possibility of Type I errors and to take steps to minimize their risk.