Of course an alternative explanation is that the participants who feared following or didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t fear falling as much as the researchers predicted they should might know something the researchers don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t. For example, maybe the researcher\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s estimate of fall risk didn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t accurately measure the fall hazards in the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s homes or neighbors.

Of course, an alternative explanation is that the participants who feared falling or didn't fear falling, as much as the researchers predicted they should, might know something the researchers don't know. For example, maybe the researcher's estimate of fall risk didn't accurately measure the fall hazards in the people's homes or neighbors.