Sentence:  This <WSD>hypothesis</WSD> goes by many names, including group resistence, the threshold effect, and the gender paradox. Because the <WSD>hypothesis</WSD> holds such wide appeal, it is worth revisiting the logic behind it. The <WSD>hypothesis</WSD> is built on the factual observation that fewer females than males act antisocially. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Used loosely, a tentative conjecture explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. As a scientific term of art, see the attached quotation. Compare to theory, and quotation given there.