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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: To accommodate reviewer and recommender holiday schedules, we will be closed to ALL submissions from 1st Jul - 1st Sep. During this time, reviewers can submit reviews and recommenders can issue decisions, but no new or revised submissions can be made by authors.
The one exception to this rule is that authors using the scheduled track who submit their initial Stage 1 snapshot prior to 1st Jul can choose a date within the shutdown period to submit their full Stage 1 manuscript.
We recommend that authors submit at least 1-2 weeks prior to commencement of the shutdown period to enable time to make any required revisions prior to in-depth review.
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Latest recommendations
| Id | Title * | Authors * | Abstract * ▼ | Picture | Thematic fields * | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
29 Jun 2022
STAGE 1
Go above and beyond: Does input variability affect children’s ability to learn spatial adpositions in a novel language?Can discriminative learning theory explain productive generalisation in language?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Julien Mayor, Natalia Kartushina, Caroline Rowland and 1 anonymous reviewer
One of the major challenges in studies of language learning is understanding productive generalisation – the ability to use words and linguistic structures in novel settings that the learner has never encountered previously. According to discriminative learning theory, this skill arises from an iterative process of prediction and error-correction that gradually reduces uncertainty, allowing learners to discriminate linguistic outcomes and to identify informative, invariant cues for generalisation to novel cases. In the current study, Viviani et al (2022) use computational modelling to propose a central hypothesis stemming from this theory that children will learn the meaning and use of spatial adpositions (words such as “above” and “below” that describe relative positions) more effectively when there is more variability in the use of the nouns within the spatial sentences. They will also test a range of additional hypotheses, including that learning and generalisation to novel contexts will be enhanced when children learn from skewed distributions that are similar to those found in natural languages.
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/37dxr Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. Some of the data that will be used in the preregistered analyses was obtained in the second of two pilot experiments. However, since no further revisions to the analysis plan were made after this pilot, the risk of bias due to prior data observation remains zero, and the manuscript therefore qualifies for Level 6.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Viviani, E., Ramscar, M. & Wonnacott, E. (2022). Go above and beyond: Does input variability affect children’s ability to learn spatial adpositions in a novel language? In principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/37dxr
| Go above and beyond: Does input variability affect children’s ability to learn spatial adpositions in a novel language? | Eva Viviani1, Michael Ramscar2, Elizabeth Wonnacott1 [1: University of Oxford, 2: University of Tübingen] | <p>Human language is characterized by productivity, that is, the ability to use words and structures in novel contexts. How do learners acquire these productive systems? Under a <em>discriminative learning approach,</em> language learning involves... | | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2021-11-15 15:04:42 | ||
Insufficient evidence of a positive association between chronic loneliness and anthropomorphism: Replication and extension Registered Report of Epley et al. (2008)Weak-to-no evidence for a positive link between loneliness and anthropomorphismRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by John Protzko
Anthropomorphism is a widespread phenomenon in which people instil non-human entities or objects with human-like characteristics, such as motivations, intentions, and goals. Although common, the tendency to anthropomorphise varies between people, and a growing body of psychological research has examined the importance of various individual differences. One major theoretical account of anthropomorphism (Epley et al. 2007) suggests that sociality motivation – the drive to establish social relationships – is a key moderator of the phenomenon. In support of this account, some evidence suggests that people who experience greater loneliness (a proposed marker of sociality motivation) are more likely to anthropomorphise. In an influential series of studies, Epley et al. (2008) found that anthropomorphism and loneliness were positively correlated and that inducing participants experimentally to feel more lonely led to greater anthropomorphism. Later studies, however, produced more mixed results, particularly concerning the effectiveness of the experimental interventions.
In the current study, Elsherif et al. (2024) undertook a partial replication of Epley et al. (2008), focusing on the correlational relationship between anthropomorphism and loneliness, with extensions to examine free will beliefs, anthropomorphism for supernatural beings (in addition to objects/gadgets), and the extent to which participants judged objects/gadgets to be controllable. The results revealed no reliable evidence for a positive relationship between anthropomorphism and loneliness. Analyses of the extended questions revealed that the perceived controllability of gadgets was associated negatively with anthropomorphism and that free will belief was associated positively with belief in anthropomorphism of supernatural beings. Broadly, the current findings constitute a non-replication of Epley et al. (2008). The authors conclude by calling for more direct and conceptual replications to establish the link (if any) between sociality motivation and anthropomorphism.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewer's and recommender's comments, 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/by89c 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. Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological Review, 114, 864–886. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.864
2. Epley, N., Akalis, S., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2008). Creating social connection through inferential reproduction: Loneliness and perceived agency in gadgets, Gods, and greyhounds. Psychological Science, 19, 114–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02056.x
3. Elsherif, M., Pomareda, C., Xiao, Q., Chu, H. Y., Tang, M. C., Wong, T. H., Wu, Y. & Feldman, G. (2024). Insufficient evidence of a positive association between chronic loneliness and anthropomorphism: Replication and extension Registered Report of Epley et al. (2008) [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 6 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/x96kn
| Insufficient evidence of a positive association between chronic loneliness and anthropomorphism: Replication and extension Registered Report of Epley et al. (2008) | Qinyu Xiao, Mahmoud Elsherif, Hoi Yan Chu, Ming Chun Tang, Ting Hin (Angus) Wong, Yiming Wu, Christina Pomareda, Gilad Feldman | <p>Human beings have a fundamental need to connect with others. Epley, Akalis, et al. (2008) found that people higher in chronic loneliness had a stronger tendency to anthropomorphize non-human objects, presumably for fulfilling unmet needs for so... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2024-03-27 16:17:16 | |||
17 Jan 2023
STAGE 1
How long does it take to form a habit?: A Multi-Centre ReplicationHow much practice is needed before daily actions are performed in a way that feels habitual?Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Benjamin Gardner, Wendy Wood and Adam Takacs
Even small changes in daily life can have a significant impact on one’s health, for example going to the gym at regular times and eating a healthy breakfast. But how long must we do something before it becomes a habit? Lally et al. (2010) tracked the subjective automaticity of a novel, daily (eating or exercise-related) routine. Based on 39 participants, they found a median time of 66 days. This estimate has never been replicated with their exact procedure, so the question remains of how well this holds up. Yet the estimate is useful for knowing how long we have to effortfully make ourselves perform an action until we will do it automatically.
In the current study, de Wit et al. (2023) propose a four-centre near-exact replication of Lally et al. (2010), for which they aim to test 800 subjects to provide a precise estimate of the time it takes to form a habit.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over four rounds of 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/bj9r2 Level of bias control achieved: Level 4. At least some of the data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question already exists AND is accessible in principle to the authors (e.g. residing in a public database or with a colleague), BUT the authors certify that they have not yet accessed any part of that data/evidence.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
2. de Wit, S., Bieleke, M., Fletcher, P. C., Horstmann, A., Schüler, J., Brinkhof, L. P., Gunschera, L. J., AND Murre, J. M. J. (2023). How long does it take to form a habit?: A Multi-Centre Replication, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/bj9r2
| How long does it take to form a habit?: A Multi-Centre Replication | de Wit, S., Bieleke, M., Fletcher, P.C., Horstmann, A., Schüler, J., Brinkhof, L.P., Gunschera, L.J., Murre, J.M.J. | <p>How long does it take to form a habit? This question will be addressed by an innovative study by Lally et al. (2010), in which they tracked the subjective automaticity of a novel, daily (eating or exercise-related) routine, using the Self-Repor... | Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2022-05-26 09:54:26 | |||
08 May 2025
STAGE 1
A Programmatic Stage 1 Registered Report of global song-speech relationships replicating and extending Ozaki et al. (2024) and Savage et al. (2024)Do songs differ from speech similarly across cultures?Recommended by Corina Logan based on reviews by Nai Ding, Fermin Moscoso del Prado Martin and Makiko Sadakata
Most investigations of the relationship between music and speech – two features considered universal to human societies (Brown 1991) – focus on only a few languages in an English and/or European-centric context (Savage et al. 2015). A recent study investigated this relationship in many more languages in a global context and found that songs are different from speech in a few variables (e.g., they are slower), using a relatively small sample per language (Ozaki et al. 2024). The current study (Savage et al. 2025) is conducting a large-scale replication to increase the sample size and understand whether the results reported by Ozaki et al. (2024) persist.
In this registered report, Savage and colleagues (2025) will measure pitch height, temporal rate, and pitch stability in 15-30 individuals at 26 sites (languages) around the world. This much larger sample size per language will allow them to determine whether certain languages have different relationships between song and speech, or whether they vary together in the same way across cultures globally. These results will provide robust evidence from which debates about the function of music can move forward.
Savage and colleagues (2025) have innovated a more equitable way of conducting big team research using PCI RR’s Programmatic Registered Report mechanism, where one Stage 1 can result in multiple Stage 2 manuscripts. All co-authors are on the Stage 1 manuscript, whereas each site will produce its own Stage 2, thus allowing many authors to move into the first and last author positions and receive the deserved credit for their contributions.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over three rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the recommender and 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/vs9my
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. Brown, D. E. Human Universals. (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1991).
2. Ozaki, Y., Tierney, A., Pfordresher, P. Q., McBride, J. M., Benetos, E., Proutskova, P., ... & Savage, P. E. (2024). Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report. Science Advances, 10, eadm9797. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adm9797
3. Savage, P. E., Brown, S., Sakai, E., & Currie, T. E. (2015). Statistical universals reveal the structures and functions of human music. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, 8987-8992. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414495112
4. Savage P. E., Jia Z., Ozaki Y., Pavlovich D. V., Purdy S., Ampiah-Bonney A., … & der Nederlanden, C. (2025). A Programmatic Stage 1 Registered Report of global song-speech relationships replicating and extending Ozaki et al. (2024) and Savage et al. (2025). In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/vs9my
| A Programmatic Stage 1 Registered Report of global song-speech relationships replicating and extending Ozaki et al. (2024) and Savage et al. (2024) | Patrick Savage, Zixuan Jia, Yuto Ozaki, Danya Pavlovich, Suzanne Purdy, Adwoa Ampiah-Bonney, Aleksandar Arabadjiev, Flavia Arnese, Joshua Bamford, Brenda Barbosa, Ann-Kathrin Beck, Anne Cabildo, Gakuto Chiba, Shahaboddin Dabaghi Varnosfaderani, Si... | <p>How cross-culturally consistent and general are relationships between song and speech? Ozaki et al. (2024) analysed singing and speaking from 75 individuals speaking 55 languages, concluding that songs are “slower and higher and use more stable... | Social sciences | Corina Logan | 2024-11-29 08:04:19 | |||
When children can explain why they believe a claim, they suggest better empirical tests for those claimsThe role of metacognition in how children test surprising claimsRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Elizabeth Lapidow and Amy Masnick
As children grow, their cognition develops alongside their metacognition – the awareness and understanding of their own thought processes. One important aspect of cognitive development is learning effective strategies for exploring new situations and testing surprising claims, prompting the question of how improvement in cognition and reasoning is related to metacognitive understanding of these processes. For example, as children develop more targeted and efficient exploration strategies to test a surprising claim (e.g. “of these three rocks, the smallest one is the heaviest”), metacognitive understanding of why they are uncertain or skeptical may be crucial to testing the claim effectively and, in the long run, developing more complex reasoning and logical skills.
In this lab-based study of 174 children, Hermansen et al. (2024) tested the role of metacognition in shaping how children search for information to test surprising claims. Using a series of measures – including an experimental task involving comparative claims (e.g. “this rubber duck sinks much faster than this metal button”) – the authors asked whether older (relative to younger) children express more uncertainty about surprising claims, propose more plausible reasons for their uncertainty, and are more likely to suggest specific empirical tests for a claim. Furthermore, they investigated whether prompting children to reflect on their uncertainty helps them devise an efficient test for the claim, and whether any such benefit of prompting is greater for younger children.
Results provided mixed support for the hypotheses. Contrary to expectations, older children were not more likely than younger children to express uncertainty about surprising claims -- although an exploratory analysis suggested that prior belief may moderate the relationship with age. Consistent with predictions, older children did, however, propose more plausible reasons for their uncertainty and were more likely to suggest specific empirical tests for a claim. Interestingly, prompting children to reflect on their uncertainty did not significantly increase the likelihood that they would generate an efficient test for a claim, although exploratory analysis again suggested that taking to account additional variables (in this case the type of explanation children provide when prompted) could moderate the effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that the development of children’s reasoning about their own beliefs influences their empirical evaluation of those beliefs. Overall, the study highlights the role of metacognition in the development of explicit scientific thinking and suggests a variety of promising avenues for future research.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, 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/uq6dw
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:
*Note: Despite being listed as a PCI RR-friendly outlet at Stage 1 (in 2022), Infant and Child Development was removed from the above listing at Stage 2 due to the decision by the journal's publisher (Wiley) in 2024 to withdraw its journals from all PCIs, including PCI RR. As part of this withdrawal, Wiley chose to renege on previous commitments issued by Infant and Child Development to PCI RR authors.
References
1. Hermansen T. K., Mathisen, K. F., & Ronfard, S. (2024). When children can explain why they believe a claim, they suggest better empirical tests for those claims [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/6ket7?view_only=d86eb8b5296b4499801e052a6a22291f
| When children can explain why they believe a claim, they suggest better empirical tests for those claims | Tone K. Hermansen, Kamilla F. Mathisen, Samuel Ronfard | <p>Hearing about surprising phenomena triggers exploration, even in young children. This exploration increases and changes with age. It becomes more targeted and efficient with children around 6-years-old clearly exploring with the intent to verif... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2024-06-19 09:39:15 | |||
24 Oct 2024
STAGE 1
Knowing why: Children’s reflection on their own uncertainty about an adult’s surprising claim increases their tendency to test that claimDoes metacognition influence how children test surprising claims?Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Elizabeth Lapidow and Amy Masnick
As children grow, their cognition develops alongside their metacognition – the awareness and understanding of their own thought processes. One important aspect of cognitive development is learning effective strategies for exploring new situations and testing surprising claims, prompting the question of how improvement in cognition and reasoning is related to metacognitive understanding of these processes. For example, as children develop more targeted and efficient exploration strategies to test a surprising claim (e.g. “of these three rocks, the smallest one is the heaviest”), metacognitive understanding of why they are uncertain or skeptical may be crucial to testing the claim effectively and, in the long run, developing more complex reasoning and logical skills.
In this lab-based study of 175 children, Hermansen et al. (2022) will test the role of metacognition in shaping how children search for information to test surprising claims. Using a series of measures – including an experimental task involving comparative claims (e.g. “this rubber duck sinks much faster than this metal button”) – the authors will ask whether older (relative to younger) children express more uncertainty about surprising claims, propose more plausible reasons for their uncertainty, and are more likely to suggest specific empirical tests for a claim. Furthermore, they will investigate whether prompting children to reflect on their uncertainty helps them devise an efficient test for the claim, and whether any such benefit of prompting is greater for younger children.
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/uq6dw
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. Hermansen T. K., Mathisen, K. F., & Ronfard, S. (2022). Knowing why: Children’s reflection on their own uncertainty about an adult’s surprising claim increases their tendency to test that claim, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/uq6dw
| Knowing why: Children’s reflection on their own uncertainty about an adult’s surprising claim increases their tendency to test that claim | Tone Hermansen, Kamilla Mathisen, Samuel Ronfard | <p>Hearing about surprising phenomena triggers exploration, even in young children. This exploration increases and changes with age. It becomes more targeted and efficient with children around 6-years-old clearly exploring with the intent to verif... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-05-09 18:10:57 | |||
08 Feb 2022
STAGE 1
Motivational Control of Habits: A Preregistered fMRI StudyPutting the Expected Value of Control (EVC) theory to the test in explaining habitual actionRecommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by 2 anonymous reviewers
What are the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the formation of habits? In this Stage 1 Registered Report, Eder and colleagues propose an fMRI study to test a key prediction of the Expected Value of Control (EVC) theory: that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) – a region heavily implicated in reward processing, cognitive control, and action selection – will show increased activity during the presentation of Pavlovian cues that are associated with devalued outcomes. In combination with a series of behavioural positive controls, this observation would provide evidence in support of EVC theory, whereas failure to do so may support alternative accounts that propose independence of habits from the representations of outcomes. The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth specialist 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). This IPA recommendation was issued on 8 Feb 2022, and was initially provisional due to lack of ethics approval. The recommendation was then updated and confirmed on 21 Feb 2022 following confirmation that ethics approval had been granted. URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/k8ygb 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 Eder, A. B., Dignath, D. & Gamer, M. (2022). Motivational Control of Habits: A Preregistered fMRI Study. Stage 1 preregistration, in principle acceptance of version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/k8ygb | Motivational Control of Habits: A Preregistered fMRI Study | Andreas B. Eder, David Dignath, Matthias Gamer | <p>Habitual action is typically distinguished from goal-directed action by its insensitivity to changes in the reward value. There is an ongoing discussion whether this insensitivity is an intrinsic design feature of habits or, rather, a function ... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2021-10-05 11:51:08 | |||
Revisiting the Effects of Helper Intention on Gratitude and Indebtedness: Replication and extensions Registered Report of Tsang (2006)Grateful or indebted? Revisiting the role of helper intention in gratitude and indebtednessRecommended by Zhang Chen based on reviews by Jo-Ann Tsang, Sarahanne Miranda Field and Cong Peng
When receiving a favor, we may feel grateful and/or indebted to those who have helped us. What factors determine the extent of gratitude and indebtedness people experience? In a seminal paper, Tsang (2006) found that people reported feeling more gratitude when the helper's intention was perceived to be benevolent rather than selfish. In contrast, indebtedness was not influenced by the perceived intention of the helper.
In the current study, Chan et al. (2025) revisited the effects of helper intention on gratitude and indebtedness, by replicating and extending the original studies (Study 2 & 3) by Tsang (2006). Participants were asked to either recall (replication of Study 2) or read (replication of Study 3) a scenario in which another person helped them with either benevolent or selfish intentions, and rate how much gratitude and indebtedness they would experience in such situations. Replicating the findings by Tsang (2006), Chan et al. (2025) found that gratitude was more strongly influenced by helper intention than indebtedness. Extending these findings, the authors further discovered that helper intention affected perceived expectations for reciprocity and reciprocity inclination. Moreover, perceived reciprocity expectations showed opposite correlations with gratitude and indebtedness. Overall, this successful replication reinforces the distinction between gratitude and indebtedness, providing a solid foundation for future research on their underlying mechanisms and downstream influences. This Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review by three expert reviewers, and a second round of review by the recommender. After the revisions, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and therefore awarded a positive recommendation. URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/uyfvq
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. Tsang, J.-A. (2006). The effects of helper intention on gratitude and indebtedness. Motivation and Emotion, 30, 199–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-006-9031-z 2. Chan, C. F., Lim, H. C., Lau, F. Y., Ip, W., Lui, C. F. S., Tam, K. Y. Y., & Feldman, G. (2025). Revisiting the Effects of Helper Intention on Gratitude and Indebtedness: Replication and extensions Registered Report of Tsang (2006)[Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 6 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/gthma | Revisiting the Effects of Helper Intention on Gratitude and Indebtedness: Replication and extensions Registered Report of Tsang (2006) | Chi Fung Chan, Hiu Ching Lim, Fung Yee Lau, Wing Ip, Chak Fong Shannon Lui, Katy Y. Y. Tam, Gilad Feldman | <p>Gratitude and indebtedness are common emotions in response to a favor, yet research suggests that they are experienced differently depending on the situation. Tsang (2006) found that gratitude for a favor depended on perceived helper intention,... | Social sciences | Zhang Chen | 2024-05-16 21:38:11 | |||
30 Jun 2023
STAGE 1
Justice in the Eye of the Beholder: How Comparison Framing Affects the Perception of Global Inequality Through Social Emotions and Justice SensitivityWhy are there variations in perceptions of inequality?Recommended by Moin Syed based on reviews by Mario Gollwitzer and Sa-Kiera Hudson
Inequalities in income, wealth, and opportunities are rampant both between and within nations around the world. Making strides to rectify inequalities requires examining how people come to understand them as well as the psychological processes that translate those understandings into reparative actions. There is some evidence for a “comparative framing effect,” in which the group that is initially referenced impacts judgements by communicating salient information and the appropriate reference point. Research on this comparative framing effect suggests that focusing on disadvantage, relative to advantage, leads to a more negative assessment and intentions to engage in action to reduce the inequality.
In two pilot studies (reported in the current proposal) focused on global inequalities (low-income vs high-income countries), Schnepf et al. (2023) did not find evidence for a main effect of framing on perceived legitimacy of the inequality or intentions to engage in action. They did, however, find some evidence for an interaction with the perceived size of the inequality. When the low-income country was the subject of the comparison, larger perceptions of the size of the inequality were associated with greater intentions to engage in action (both studies) and greater perceptions of the differences as illegitimate (Study 1 only). Moreover, they found some evidence in both studies that negative social emotions such as guilt and shame were the mechanism that explained why perceiving greater inequality in the low-income framing condition was associated with the outcomes.
In the current study, Schnepf et al. (2023) build upon these two pilot studies to conduct a high-quality replication and a stronger test of their hypotheses. Most notably, the proposed Registered Report uses a much larger sample, providing adequate statistical power to detect relatively small interaction effects. Additionally, the proposed project manipulates the size of the inequality that is being evaluated, rather than relying on participants’ perceptions. Finally, the study includes “justice sensitivity,” or the degree to which individuals assess inequality as unfair as an additional hypothesized moderator, and “social dominance orientation” as an exploratory moderator. Along with the pilot studies, the proposed project will represent a strong test of several hypotheses relevant to many different areas of social and personality psychology.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth peer review, both of which consisted of substantial comments from two scholars with relevant expertise. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and was therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/pgyvw
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. Schnepf, J., Reese, G., Bruckmüller, S., Braun, M., Rotzinger, J., & Martiny, S. E. (2023). Justice in the eye of the beholder: How comparison framing affects the perception of global inequality through social emotions and justice sensitivity. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/pgyvw
| Justice in the Eye of the Beholder: How Comparison Framing Affects the Perception of Global Inequality Through Social Emotions and Justice Sensitivity | Julia Schnepf, Gerhard Reese, Susanne Bruckmüller, Maike Braun, Julia Rotzinger, Sarah E. Martiny | <p>Global inequality is one of today’s major challenges. How people mentally represent inequality is often determined by its comparative framing. In the present work, we seek to analyze whether putting the focus of a comparison on the disadvantage... | Social sciences | Moin Syed | 2021-12-11 15:41:26 | |||
17 Jan 2024
STAGE 1
The Efficacy of Attentional Bias Modification for Anxiety: A Registered ReplicationExamining attentional retraining of threat as an intervention in pathological worryRecommended by Thomas Meyer based on reviews by Thomas Gladwin, Jakob Fink-Lamotte and 1 anonymous reviewer
Cognitive models ascribe a pivotal role to cognitive biases in the development and maintenance of mental disorders. For instance, attentional biases that prioritize the processing of threat-related stimuli have been suggested to be causally involved in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is marked by pathological worry. Therefore, these biases have garnered significant interest as potential diagnostic indicator and as targets for modification.
The idea that attention bias modification (ABM) can serve as a therapeutic intervention for GAD and other disorders was fueled by a seminal study by Hazen et al. (2009). In this study, 23 individuals experiencing high levels of worry underwent a computerized attentional retraining of threat stimuli (ARTS) or placebo control training during five training sessions. Relative to control, attention retraining was found to reduce preferential attention to threat, as well as depression and anxiety symptoms. However, as Pond et al. (2024) highlight in their review of the literature, the evidence endorsing the efficacy of ABM in alleviating anxiety disorders is still inconclusive. Moreover, some researchers contend that early positive findings might have been inflated due to demand effects.
Based on these considerations, Pond et al. (2024) propose a direct replication of Hazen et al. (2009) by subjecting a high-worry sample to five sessions of ARTS or placebo control. Departing from the frequentist analyses used in the original study, the authors will employ Bayesian analyses that allow more nuanced interpretation of the results, allowing consideration of evidence in support of the null hypothesis. The sampling plan will adhere to a Bayesian stopping rule, whereby the maximal sample size will be set at n=200. Furthermore, the authors extend the original study by addressing potential demand effects. For this purpose, they include a measure of phenomenological control (i.e., the ability to generate experiences align with the expectancies of a given situation) and evaluate its potential moderating impact on the attention bias training.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated by three expert reviewers in two rounds of in-depth review. Following responses from the authors, the recommender determined that Stage 1 criteria were met and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/5f7u9
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. Hazen, R. A., Vasey, M. W., & Schmidt, N. B. (2009). Attentional retraining: A randomized clinical trial for pathological worry. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43, 627-633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.07.004
2. Pond, N., Meeten, F., Clarke, P., Notebaert, L., & Scott, R. B. (2024). The efficacy of attentional bias modification for anxiety: A registered replication. In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/5f7u9
| The Efficacy of Attentional Bias Modification for Anxiety: A Registered Replication | Nathan Pond, Frances Meeten, Patrick Clarke, Lies Notebaert, Ryan Scott | <p>Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent condition that has been linked to the presence of certain cognitive biases, including attention bias. Attention bias is the tendency to attend preferentially to threat-related stimuli and has be... | Social sciences | Thomas Meyer | 2023-09-15 19:25:47 |
