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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title * | Authors * | Abstract * ▲ | Picture | Thematic fields * | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Feb 2024
STAGE 1
Restriction of researcher degrees of freedom through the Psychological Research Preregistration-Quantitative (PRP-QUANT) TemplateExamining the restrictiveness of the PRP-QUANT TemplateRecommended by Daniel Lakens based on reviews by Marjan Bakker and 1 anonymous reviewer
The Psychological Research Preregistration-Quantitative Template has been created in 2022 to provide more structure and detail to preregistrations. The goal of the current study is to test if the PRP-QUANT template indeed provides greater restriction of the flexibility in a study for preregistered hypotheses than other existing templates. This question is important because one concern that has been raised about the practice of preregistration is that the quality of preregistrations is often low. Metascientific research has shown that preregistrations are often of low quality (Bakker et al., 2020), and hypothesis tests from preregistrations are still selectively reported (van den Akker, van Assen, Enting, et al., 2023). It is important to improve the quality of preregistrations, and if a better template can help, it is a cost-effective approach to improve quality if the wider adoption of the better template can be promoted.
In the current study, Spitzer and Mueller (2024) will follow the procedure of a previous meta-scientific study by Heirene et al. (2021). 74 existing preregistrations with the PRP-QUANT template are available, and will be compared with an existing dataset coded by Bakker and colleagues (2020). The sample size is limited, but allows detecting some differences that would be considered large enough to matter, even though there might be smaller differences that would not be detectable based on the currently available sample size. Nevertheless, given that there is a need for improvement, even preliminary data might already be useful to provide tentative recommendations. Restrictiveness will be coded in 23 items, and adherence to or deviations from the preregistration are coded as well. As such deviations are common, the question whether this template reduced the likelihood of deviations is important. Two coders will code all studies.
The study should provide a useful initial evaluation of the PRP-QUANT template, and has the potential to have practical implications if the PRP-QUANT template shows clear benefits. Both authors have declared COI's related to the PRP-QUANT template, making the Registered Report format a fitting approach to prevent confirmation bias from influencing the reported results.
This Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review by two expert reviewers and the recommender. After the revisions, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/vhezj
Level of bias control achieved: Level 3. At least some data/evidence that will be used to the answer the research question has been previously accessed by the authors (e.g. downloaded or otherwise received), but the authors certify that they have not yet observed ANY part of the data/evidence. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. van den Akker, O. R., van Assen, M. A. L. M., Bakker, M., Elsherif, M., Wong, T. K., & Wicherts, J. M. (2023). Preregistration in practice: A comparison of preregistered and non-preregistered studies in psychology. Behavior Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02277-0
2. Bakker, M., Veldkamp, C. L. S., Assen, M. A. L. M. van, Crompvoets, E. A. V., Ong, H. H., Nosek, B. A., Soderberg, C. K., Mellor, D., & Wicherts, J. M. (2020). Ensuring the quality and specificity of preregistrations. PLOS Biology, 18(12), e3000937. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000937
3. Spitzer, L. & Mueller, S. (2024). Stage 1 Registered Report: Restriction of researcher degrees of freedom through the Psychological Research Preregistration-Quantitative (PRP-QUANT) Template. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/vhezj
4. Heirene, R., LaPlante, D., Louderback, E. R., Keen, B., Bakker, M., Serafimovska, A., & Gainsbury, S. M. (2021). Preregistration specificity & adherence: A review of preregistered gambling studies & cross-disciplinary comparison. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/nj4es
| Restriction of researcher degrees of freedom through the Psychological Research Preregistration-Quantitative (PRP-QUANT) Template | Lisa Spitzer & Stefanie Mueller | <p>Preregistration can help to restrict researcher degrees of freedom and thereby ensure the integrity of research findings. However, its ability to restrict such flexibility depends on whether researchers specify their study plan in sufficient de... | | Social sciences | Daniel Lakens | 2023-06-01 10:39:20 | ||
17 Oct 2022
STAGE 1
Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and ruminationUnderstanding the relationship between creativity and depressive traitsRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Kate Button and 1 anonymous reviewer
For centuries, the relationship between creativity and mental health has been a subject of fascination, propelled by the impression that many of the most famous artists in history likely suffered from mood disorders or other mental illnesses. However, with the advent of psychological science – including more precise and diagnostic clinical measures – the empirical evidence for an association between creativity and depressive symptoms has been mixed, with some studies suggesting a positive relationship and others showing either no effect or indicating that the link, if there is one, may be driven by other personality characteristics (Verhaeghen et al., 2005).
In the current study, Lam and Saunders will use an online design in 200 participants to ask whether creativity is associated with higher depressive traits, and further, whether that relationship depends on two additional variables that could explain an observed positive correlation: self-reflective rumination (repetitive thoughts that maintain a negative mood state) and the frequency with which individuals engage in reappraisal (a regulation strategy that involves reinterpreting an event or situation to diminish its negative impact). If justified by the main confirmatory findings, the authors will also explore the moderating role of gender and how any observed associations are reflected in more fine-grained measures of creativity. The results promise to shed light on not only the basic question of whether creativity is related to depressive traits, but the extent to which that association depends on related determinants of mental health.
Following two rounds of in-depth review, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/yub7n
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Verhaeghen, P., Joormann, J., & Khan, R. (2005). Why we sing the blues: The relation between self-reflective rumination, mood, and creativity. Emotion, 5(2), 226-232. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.226
2. Lam, C. Y. & Saunders, J. A. (2022). Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and rumination, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/yub7n
| Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and rumination | Chin Yui Lam and Jeffrey Allen Saunders | <p>Previous research has found mixed evidence about whether increased creativity is associated with higher depression. We investigated the relationship between creativity and depression, and the role of two emotion regulation strategies: ruminatio... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-01-27 10:53:10 | |||
Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and ruminationEvidence for a weak relationship between creativity and depressive traitsRecommended by Chris Chambers
For centuries, the relationship between creativity and mental health has been a subject of fascination, propelled by the impression that many of the most famous artists in history likely suffered from mood disorders or other mental illnesses. However, with the advent of psychological science – including more precise and diagnostic clinical measures – the empirical evidence for an association between creativity and depressive symptoms has been mixed, with some studies suggesting a positive relationship and others showing either no effect or indicating that the link, if there is one, may be driven by other personality characteristics (Verhaeghen et al., 2005).
In the current study, Lam and Saunders used an online design in 201 participants to ask whether creativity is associated with higher depressive traits, and further, whether that relationship depends on two additional variables that could explain an observed positive correlation: self-reflective rumination (repetitive thoughts that maintain a negative mood state) and the frequency with which individuals engage in reappraisal (a regulation strategy that involves reinterpreting an event or situation to diminish its negative impact).
Results showed mixed support for the hypotheses. Contrary to expectations, the relationship between creativity and depression was significantly negative rather than positive. However, even though the directionality of this relationship was opposite to predicted, the hypothesis that the association between creativity and depression is mediated by self-reflective rumination was supported. Finally, the results disconfirmed the hypothesis that reappraisal frequency contributes to the relationship between creativity and depression. Exploratory analyses indicated no reliable moderating role of gender. Overall, these findings suggest that creativity and depression may be only weakly related, and that self-reflective rumination could account for that relationship.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of review provided by the recommender and Managing Board, as the Stage 1 reviewers were no longer available. Based on additional changes to the manuscript, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/yub7n
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question was generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Verhaeghen, P., Joormann, J., & Khan, R. (2005). Why we sing the blues: The relation between self-reflective rumination, mood, and creativity. Emotion, 5, 226-232. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.226
2. Lam, C. Y. & Saunders, J. A. (2023). Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and rumination [Stage 2 Registered Report]. Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/z3ap5
| Relationship between creativity and depression: the role of reappraisal and rumination | Chin Yui Lam and Jeffrey Allen Saunders | <p>Previous research has found mixed evidence about whether increased creativity is associated with higher depression. We investigated the relationship between creativity and depression, and the role of two emotion regulation strategies: ruminatio... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-07-27 11:42:43 | |||
Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysisWhich personal factors are associated with group creativity?Recommended by Julia M. Rohrer
What determines whether groups of people can come up with ideas that are both original and useful? Since the 1960s, this question has been intensively studied with the help of more or less structured group creativity activities such as brainstorming or creative problem solving, with subsequent rating of the generated ideas. In this line of research, personal factors—such as personality traits, and other interindividual differences in emotion and cognition—have received substantial attention as potential correlates of creative outcomes of group activities. This has spawned a sprawling literature that, to date, has not yet been synthesized. Thus, empirical findings in this literature, which are also sometimes contradictory, have not yet been well-integrated. In the present study, Fillon et al. (2022) conducted the first meta-analysis of correlations between personal factors and group creativity outcomes. The authors searched and synthesized the existing published literature according to predetermined criteria to (1) assess the overall relationship between a broad list of personal factors and creativity outcomes in group settings and (2) explore potential moderators of these relationships. In total, 11 studies could be included in the meta-analysis. They provided weak support for a positive correlation between self-efficacy and the three investigated group creative outcomes, number of ideas, originality of ideas, and usefulness of ideas. With respect to moderators, many of the planned analyses could not be conducted due to the low number of studies. The only finding that arose was weak evidence for the idea that time constraint moderates associations: relationships between personal factors and group creativity outcomes were slightly stronger for tasks limited to 20 minutes rather than 10 minutes. Statistical power overall was low across studies. The authors conclude their meta-analysis with the observation that the available data on the topic are very limited. They suggest that to improve our knowledge of the topic, future studies should adhere to standardized creativity methods and protocols and implement expert ratings of creativity. They also call for increasing the availability of raw data in this field of study to improve the accumulation of knowledge about links between personal factors and the creative performance of groups. The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review provided by the recommender and Chris Chambers, as the original reviewers were no longer available. Based on additional changes to the manuscript, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation. URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/nybg6
Level of bias control achieved: Level 3. At least some data/evidence that was used to answer the research question had been previously accessed by the authors (e.g. downloaded or otherwise received), but the authors certified that had not yet observed ANY part of the data/evidence prior to IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References 1. Fillon, A. A., Girandola, F., Bonnardel, N., Kenworth, J. B. & Souchet, L. (2023). Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysis, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://psyarxiv.com/4br6a/ | Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysis | Adrien Alejandro Fillon; Fabien Girandola, Nathalie Bonnardel, Jared Kenworthy, Lionel Souchet | <p>Previous research has investigated the relationship between personal factors and group creativity outcomes. On one side, they indicated that individual differences play a role in group creativity. On the other side, they showed that group creat... | Social sciences | Julia M. Rohrer | 2023-02-21 12:41:02 | |||
13 May 2023
STAGE 1
Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysisWhich personal factors are associated with group creativity?Recommended by Julia M. Rohrer and Malte Elson based on reviews by Evan Carter and Greg Feist
What determines whether groups of people can come up with ideas that are both original and useful? Since the 1960s, this question has been intensively studied with the help of more or less structured group creativity activities such as brainstorming or creative problem solving, with subsequent rating of the generated ideas.
In this line of research, personal factors—such as personality traits, and other interindividual differences in emotion and cognition—have received substantial attention as potential correlates of creative outcomes of group activities. This has spawned a sprawling literature that, to date, has not yet been synthesized. Thus, empirical findings in this literature, which are also sometimes contradictory, have not yet been well-integrated.
In the present study, Fillon et al. (2022) will conduct the first meta-analysis of correlations between personal factors and group creativity outcomes. The authors will search and synthesize the existing (published and unpublished) literature according to predetermined criteria to (1) assess the overall relationship between a broad list of personal factors and creativity outcomes in group settings and (2) explore potential moderators of these relationships. The latter research question includes substantive moderators, such as familiarity between group members, group size, and type of task, but also publication status.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over five rounds of in depth-review. Based on detailed responses to reviewers’ and the recommenders’ comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/nybg6
Level of bias control achieved: Level 3. At least some data/evidence that will be used to the answer the research question has been previously accessed by the authors (e.g. downloaded or otherwise received), but the authors certify that they have not yet observed ANY part of the data/evidence. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References 1. Fillon, A. A., Girandola, F., Bonnardel, N., Kenworth, J. B., Wiernik. B. M. & Souchet, L. (2022). Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysis, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/nybg6 | Personal factors and group creativity characteristics: A correlational meta-analysis | Adrien A. Fillon, Fabien Girandola, Nathalie Bonnardel, Jared B. Kenworthy, Brenton M. Wiernik & Lionel Souchet | <p>Previous research has investigated the relationship between personal factors and group creativity outcomes. On one side, they showed that individual differences play a role in group creativity. On the other side, they showed that group creativi... | Social sciences | Julia M. Rohrer | 2021-08-03 16:32:23 | |||
The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fadingDoes pupil size track high-level attention?Recommended by D. Samuel Schwarzkopf based on reviews by Sander Nieuwenhuis and Martin Rolfs
Higher-level cognitive processes like attention, memory, or mental imagery can produce pupil responses, without any actual difference in luminance of the visual stimulus. Interestingly, the inverse scenario remained untested to date: when a physical luminance difference is perceptually eliminated from awareness, does pupil size still track attention to the stimulus? In this Registered Report, Vilotijević and Mathôt (2024) sought to test this experimentally using a perceptual fading phenomenon where two Gaussian patches with different luminances fade from consciousness and are thus perceived as mid-level uniform grey (or at least the subjective difference is much reduced). This fading manipulation, as well as a control condition without perceptual fading, were presented in separate blocks. Participants were instructed to covertly attend one of the patches.
The authors hypothesised that if pupil size reflects attentional selection, these pupil responses in the fading condition should be eliminated or at least reduced, and this should evolve with time as the stimuli are perceptually fading. Their results show that pupil responses during covert attention are indeed reduced during perceptual fading - but they are not eliminated. Interestingly, this reduction did not depend on time or self-reports of the strength of perceptual fading. The findings therefore suggest that pupil dilation tracks subjective brightness differences. One inherent issue with experiments like these is that the experimental and control conditions necessarily involve a physical difference in the stimulus. Here, the fading condition had the same spatial configuration of light and dark stimuli throughout a block while in the control (non-fading) condition the light and dark stimuli alternated sides between trials. It is therefore impossible to completely rule out that the physical difference affects the results. However, the only alternative to this would be an experimental design in which the stimuli never change, but only the subjective perceptual state varies. Such a design is completely at the mercy of the participant's subjective state and therefore loses experimental control and statistical sensitivity. The present results confirmed the authors' prediction that there are indeed differences in overall pupil responses during the fading and control conditions, irrespective of covert attention.
Critically, the fact that the attention effect did not vary with time or subjective self-reports of the illusion supports the authors' interpretation that this reflects higher-level cognition: the mere act of attending to the dark side - even if the actual appearance has faded - could cause a sustained pupil dilation. This would be consistent with the type of pupil effects for memory and mental imagery that motivated the present study. However, a simpler alternative is that the experience of perceptual fading was incomplete (as possibly suggested by Figures 2D and 2F) but that self-reports fail to capture this subjective experience accurately. Perhaps a future study could compare the magnitude of the attentional pupil effects when the initial stimulus is completely removed. If similar differences in pupil response persist this would suggest that the present results are due to high-level modulation or the residual low-level luminance difference.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated by two reviewers and the recommender over two rounds of review. One reviewer again advised additional robustness checks to rule out eye movement confounds, an issue they had already raised during Stage 1 review. The researchers provide clear evidence that this is unlikely to have confounded their findings. This has been added to the supplementary data repository. Following this review and revision, the recommender judged that the Stage 2 criteria were met and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/bmtp6
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question was generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Vilotijević, A. & Mathôt, S. (2024). The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fading [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/ku8qc?view_only=f331df53b50f431386fabba9e386b387
| The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fading | Ana Vilotijević, Sebastiaan Mathôt | <p>Pupil size is modulated by various cognitive factors such as attention, working memory, mental imagery, and subjective perception. Previous studies examining cognitive effects on pupil size mainly focused on inducing or enhancing a subjective e... | Social sciences | D. Samuel Schwarzkopf | 2024-08-17 12:58:58 | |||
30 Sep 2024
STAGE 1
The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fadingDoes pupil size track high-level attention?Recommended by D. Samuel Schwarzkopf and Chris Chambers based on reviews by Sander Nieuwenhuis, Martin Rolfs and 1 anonymous reviewer
Previous research has shown that higher-level cognitive processes like attention, memory or mental imagery can produce pupil responses, without any actual difference in luminance of the visual stimulus. Interestingly, the inverse scenario remains untested: when a difference in luminance is perceptually eliminated from awareness, does pupil size still track cognitive factors? In this study, Vilotijević and Mathôt (2024) seek to test this experimentally using a perceptual fading phenomenon where two Gaussian patches with different luminances fade from consciousness and are thus perceived as mid-level uniform grey. The researchers will present this fading manipulation and a control condition where no fading occurs in separate blocks. Participants are instructed to covertly attend one of the patches. If pupil size reflects attentional selection, pupil responses should be reduced in the fading condition, and this should evolve with time as the stimuli are perceptually fading.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated by three reviewers and the Recommender over three rounds of review. One reviewer advises conducting robustness checks to rule out eye movements confounds. This constitutes exploratory analyses at Stage 2 that probably require some flexibility. Despite this, the Recommender decided to grant in-principle acceptance of this study. While these robustness tests can put the eventual results in context, the general hypotheses and predictions specified in this version are clear and straightforward.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/bmtp6
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Vilotijević, A. & Mathôt, S. (2024). The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fading. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/bmtp6
| The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fading | Ana Vilotijević, Sebastiaan Mathôt | <p>Pupil size is modulated by various cognitive factors such as attention, working memory, mental imagery, and subjective perception. Previous studies examining cognitive effects on pupil size mainly focused on inducing or enhancing a subjective e... | Social sciences | D. Samuel Schwarzkopf | Martin Rolfs | 2024-01-18 13:28:02 | ||
15 Feb 2022
STAGE 1
Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trialUnderstanding the effect of unconditional cash transfers on cognitionRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Charlotte Pennington and Matúš Adamkovič
Over the last decade, a growing body of evidence has revealed potential benefits of unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) on a variety of outcomes, including self-reported happiness and life satisfaction (Haushofer & Shapiro, 2016), economic and financial well-being (Blattman et al., 2013; Baird et al., 2018) and educational attainment (Baird et al., 2016). Although the effects of UCTs do not always out-perform rigorous control conditions (Whillans & West, 2022), these findings prompt the question of whether the alleviation of poverty via UCTs can also influence cognitive processing and performance. In the current study, Szaszi et al. propose to analyse the results of a previous randomised trial of UCTs by Blattman et al. (2017) to test whether a $200 lump sum administered to a sample of young men in Liberia carries both short- and long-term benefits for a range of executive functions, including attention, response inhibition, and working memory capacity. The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/k56yv Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References 1. Haushofer, J. & Shapiro, J. (2016). The short-term impact of unconditional cash transfers to the poor: Experimental evidence from Kenya. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 13, 1973–2042. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw025
2. Blattman, C., Fiala, N. & Martinez, S. (2013) Generating skilled self-employment in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Uganda. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129, 697–752. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjt057
3. Baird, S., McKenzie, D., & Özler, B. (2018). The effects of cash transfers on adult labor market outcomes. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40176-018-0131-9
4. Baird, S., Chirwa, E., De Hoop, J., & Özler, B. (2016). Girl power: cash transfers and adolescent welfare: evidence from a cluster-randomized experiment in Malawi. In African Successes, Volume II: Human Capital (pp. 139-164). University of Chicago Press. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c13380/c13380.pdf
5. Whillans, A., & West, C. (2022). Alleviating time poverty among the working poor: A pre-registered longitudinal field experiment. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04352-y
6. Szaszi, B., Palfi, B., Neszveda, G., Taka, A., Szecsi, P., Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C., & Sheridan, M. (2022). Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trial, in principle acceptance of version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/k56yv
7. Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C. & Sheridan, M. (2017). Reducing crime and violence: Experimental evidence from cognitive behavioral therapy in Liberia. American Economic Review, 107, 1165–1206. http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150503
| Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trial | Barnabas Szaszi, Bence Palfi, Gabor Neszveda, Aikaterini Taka, Peter Szecsi, Christopher Blattman, Julian C. Jamison, Margaret Sheridan | <p>Recent findings suggest that poverty has a deteriorating effect on cognitive functioning which can reinforce existing social inequalities. In this Registered Report, we will investigate the impact of a poverty alleviation program on cognitive p... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2021-07-22 20:34:50 | |||
25 Jun 2024
STAGE 1
Does ‘virtuality’ affect the role of prior expectations in perception and action? Comparing predictive grip and lifting forces in real and virtual environmentsThe role of prior expectations for lifting objects in virtual realityRecommended by Robert McIntosh based on reviews by 2 anonymous reviewers
As virtual reality environments become more common, it is important to understand our sensorimotor interactions with them. In real world settings, sensory information is supplemented by prior expectations from past experiences, aiding efficient action control. In VR, the relative role of expectations could decrease due to a lack of prior experience with the environment, or increase because sensory information is impoverished or ambiguous. Harris, Arthur and Buckingham (2024) propose to test these possibilities by comparing a real-world object lifting task and a VR version in which the same objects are lifted but visual feedback is substituted by a virtual view. The experiment uses the Size-Weight Illusion (SWI) and the Material Weight Illusion (MWI). In these paradigms, the visual appearance of the object induces expectations about weight that can affect the perception of weight during lifting, and the fingertip forces generated. The degree to which the visual appearance of objects induces differences in perceived weight, and in measured fingertip forces, will index the influence of prior expectations for these two paradigms. The analyses will test whether the influence of prior expectations is lower or higher in the VR set-up than in real-world lifting. The outcomes across tasks (SWI and MWI) and measures (perceived weight, fingertip forces) will broaden our understanding of the role of predictive sensorimotor control in novel virtual environments.
After three rounds of evaluation, with input from two external reviewers, the recommender judged that the Stage 1 manuscript met the criteria for in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/36jhb
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References 1. Harris, D. J., Arthur, T., & Buckingham, G. (2024). Does ‘virtuality’ affect the role of prior expectations in perception and action? Comparing predictive grip and lifting forces in real and virtual environments. In principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/36jhb
| Does ‘virtuality’ affect the role of prior expectations in perception and action? Comparing predictive grip and lifting forces in real and virtual environments | David J. Harris, Tom Arthur, & Gavin Buckingham | <p>Recent theories in cognitive science propose that prior expectations strongly influence how individuals perceive the world and control their actions. This influence is particularly relevant in novel sensory environments, such as virtual reality... | Life Sciences | Robert McIntosh | Ben van Buren | 2023-11-22 12:25:57 | ||
Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate DissertationIncorporating open research practices into the undergraduate curriculum increases understanding of such practicesRecommended by Corina Logan based on reviews by Kelsey McCune, Neil Lewis, Jr., Lisa Spitzer and 1 anonymous reviewer
In a time when open research practices are becoming more widely used to combat questionable research practices (QRPs) in academia, this Registered Report by Pownall and colleagues (2023) empirically investigated the practice of preregistering study plans, which allows us to better understand to what degree such practices increase awareness of QRPs and whether experience with preregistration helps reduce engagement in QRPs. This investigation is timely because results from these kinds of studies are only recently becoming available and the conclusions are providing evidence that open research practices can improve research quality and reliability (e.g., Soderberg et al. 2021, Chambers & Tzavella 2022). The authors crucially focused on the effect of preregistering the undergraduate senior thesis (of psychology students in the UK), which is a key stage in the development of an academic.
Pownall and colleagues found that preregistration did not affect attitudes toward QRPs, but it did improve student understanding of open research practices. Using exploratory analyses, they additionally found that those who preregistered were those students who reported that they had more opportunity, motivation, and greater capability. This shows how important it is to incorporate the teaching of open research practices such that students can increase their capability, motivation, and opportunity to pursue such practices, whether it is preregistration or other practices that are better known to reduce QRPs (such as registered reports; Krypotos et al. 2022).
After four rounds of review and revisions, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question was generated until after IPA.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Chambers C. D. & Tzavella, L. (2022). The past, present, and future of Registered Reports. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01193-7
2. Krypotos, A. M., Mertens, G., Klugkist, I., & Engelhard, I. M. (2022). Preregistration: Definition, advantages, disadvantages, and how it can help against questionable research practices. In Avoiding Questionable Research Practices in Applied Psychology (pp. 343-357). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
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| Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation | Madeleine Pownall, Charlotte R. Pennington, Emma Norris, Marie Juanchich, David Smaile, Sophie Russell, Debbie Gooch, Thomas Rhys Evans, Sofia Persson, Matthew HC Mak, Loukia Tzavella, Rebecca Monk, Thomas Gough, Christopher SY Benwell, Mahmoud El... | <p>Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is ‘study preregistration’, through which researchers outl... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Corina Logan | 2023-03-25 11:38:54 |
