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Latest recommendations
Id | Title * | Authors * ▼ | Abstract * | Picture | Thematic fields * | Recommender | Reviewers | Submission date | |
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06 Jun 2022
STAGE 1
![]() Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenancePhylactou, P., Shimi, A., & Konstantinou, N. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/64hdxCan the visual cortex maintain information in the short term?Recommended by Zoltan DienesAccording to the sensory recruitment framework, the visual cortex is at least in part responsible for maintaining information about elementary visual features in visual short term memory. Could an early visual area, constantly taking in new information, really be responsible for holding information for up to a second? But conversely, could higher order regions, such as frontal regions, really hold subtle sensory distinctions? It must be done somewhere. Yet the existing evidence is conflicting. Phylactou et al. seek to address this question by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to disrupt early visual areas at intervals up to a second after stimulus presentation to determine the effect on visual short term memory performance. In this way they will causally influence the sensory cortex at relevant times while tightening up on possible confounds in earlier research.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review by three expert reviewers. 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/empdt
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. Phylactou, P., Shimi, A. & Konstantinou, N. (2022). Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenance, in principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/empdt
| Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenance | Phylactou, P., Shimi, A., & Konstantinou, N. | <p>The role of the sensory visual cortex during visual short-term memory (VSTM) remains controversial. This controversy is possibly due to methodological issues in previous attempts to investigate the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (... | Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2021-10-10 11:44:54 | View | ||
Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenancePhivos Phylactou; Andria Shimi; Nikos Konstantinou https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/64hdxThe visual cortex can maintain information for up to a secondRecommended by Zoltan DienesAccording to the sensory recruitment framework, the visual cortex is at least in part responsible for maintaining information about elementary visual features in visual short term memory. Could an early visual area, constantly taking in new information, really be responsible for holding information for up to a second? But conversely, could higher order regions, such as frontal regions, really hold subtle sensory distinctions? It must be done somewhere. Yet the existing evidence is conflicting. Phylactou et al. addressed this question by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to disrupt early visual areas at intervals up to a second after stimulus presentation to determine the effect on visual short term memory performance. In this way, they causally influenced the sensory cortex at relevant times while tightening up on possible confounds in earlier research.
They found that TMS applied to the occipital hemisphere at each of 200ms and 1000ms after presentation of a brief visual stimulus disrupted stimuls detection on a visual short term memory test. These findings support sensory recruitment, which claims that both perceptual and memory processes rely on the same neural substrates in the visual cortex.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated by two expert reviewers. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria for recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/empdt
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 Stage 1 IPA. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Phylactou, P., Shimi, A. & Konstantinou, N. (2023). Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenance, acceptance of Version 13 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/64hdx
| Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenance | Phivos Phylactou; Andria Shimi; Nikos Konstantinou | <p>The role of the sensory visual cortex during visual short-term memory (VSTM) remains controversial. This controversy is possibly due to methodological issues in previous attempts to investigate the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (... | Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2023-01-03 08:47:59 | View | ||
16 Sep 2022
STAGE 1
![]() Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered ReportPhilipp Schoenegger & Steven Verheyen https://osf.io/xw6hnUnderstanding the key ingredients of the Bayesian Truth SerumRecommended by Ljerka OstojicThe Bayesian Truth Serum, first introduced by Prelec (2004) rewards participants based on how surprisingly common their own answers are in relation to the actual distribution of answers. As such, it has been suggested as a possible incentive-compatible design for survey studies in different disciplines that rely on participants’ self-reports about their true preferences (Schoenegger, 2021).
In this study, Schoenegger and Verheyen propose to replicate the results reported by Schoenegger (2021) and to directly investigate whether the effect elicited by the manipulations known as the Bayesian Truth Serum is distinct from its separate constituent parts.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers’ comments and edits to the stage 1 report, 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/dkvms
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. Prelec, D. (2004). A Bayesian Truth Serum for Subjective Data. Science, 306(5695), 462-466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1102081
2. Schoenegger, P. (2021). Experimental Philosophy and the Incentivisation Challenge: a Proposed Application of the Bayesian Truth Serum. Review of Philosophy and Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-021-00571-4
3. Schoenegger, P., & Verheyen, S. (2022). Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered Report. Stage 1 Registered Report, in principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/dkvms
| Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered Report | Philipp Schoenegger & Steven Verheyen | <p>Over the past decades, psychology and its cognate disciplines have undergone substantial reform, ranging from advances in statistical methodology to significant changes in academic norms. One aspect of experimental design that has received comp... | Social sciences | Ljerka Ostojic | 2021-12-06 17:36:15 | View | ||
Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered ReportPhilipp Schoenegger & Steven Verheyen https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/9zvqjReassessing the use of the Bayesian Truth Serum as an incentive-compatible design for self-reportsRecommended by Ljerka OstojicDifferent disciplines and research areas that rely on participants’ self-reports to accrue data on participants’ true preferences are faced with the question to what extent the former can be equated with the latter. Using monetary incentivisation for study participation may influence this relationship, and researchers, especially in economics, have been discussing how to develop and implement incentive-compatible research designs, i.e., those in which the incentivisation yields the best payoff for the participant if they report their true preferences (Hertwig & Ortmann, 2011; Baillon, 2017). The Bayesian Truth Serum, first introduced by Prelec (2004), according to which participants are rewarded based on how surprisingly common their own answers are relative to the actual distribution of answers, has been proposed as a possible incentive-compatible design for survey studies that rely on participants’ self-reports about their true preferences (Schoenegger, 2021).
In this study, Schoenegger and Verheyen (2022) ran a replication of the study by Schoenegger (2021) and assessed whether the effect elicited by the manipulations known as the Bayesian Truth Serum is distinct from its separate constituent parts. The authors report that the manipulation did not yield a significant difference compared to control conditions, which they interpret as a failure to replicate the original results. At the same time, the authors are careful in drawing conclusions as to the usefulness of the Bayesian Truth Serum for self-report studies using Likert-scale items in general, as they emphasise that smaller effect sizes may be of interest and that the results may differ when different items are used.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated by two reviewers, one of whom reviewed the first Stage 1 submission, and the other one of whom reviewed the manuscript specifically to assess statistical questions.
Following a careful revision by the authors, the recommender judged that the manuscript meets the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/dkvms
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question existed prior to Stage 1 in-principle acceptance.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Baillon, A. (2017). Bayesian markets to elicit private information. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 114(30), 7985-7962. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1703486114
2. Hertwig, R. & Ortmann (2001). Experimental practices in economics: a methodlogical challenge for psychologists? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(3), 383-403. https://doi.org/10.1037/e683322011-032
3. Prelec, D. (2004). A Bayesian Truth Serum for Subjective Data. Science, 306(5695), 462-466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1102081
4. Schoenegger, P. (2021). Experimental Philosophy and the Incentivisation Challenge: a Proposed Application of the Bayesian Truth Serum. Review of Philosophy and Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-021-00571-4
5. Schoenegger, P., & Verheyen, S. (2022). Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered Report. Stage 2 Registered Report, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/9zvqj
| Taking A Closer Look At The Bayesian Truth Serum: A Registered Report | Philipp Schoenegger & Steven Verheyen | <p>Over the past decade, psychology and its cognate disciplines have undergone substantial scientific reform, ranging from advances in statistical methodology to significant changes in academic norms. One aspect of experimental design that has rec... | Social sciences | Ljerka Ostojic | 2022-06-11 14:39:38 | View | ||
19 Mar 2023
STAGE 1
![]() How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered ReportPhilip Newall, Richard James, Olivia Maynard https://osf.io/zf4c8Does relaying ‘house edge’ information influence gambler’s perceived chances of winning and their factual understanding of the statistical outcomes?Recommended by Charlotte PenningtonMany products that can impact upon health and wellbeing (e.g. alcohol, food) relay information to consumers about the potential risks. However, such information is commonly provided in suboptimal format for gambling-related products. To encourage safer gambling, research has therefore recommended that information about the average loss from a gambling product (“house edge”) or percentage payout (“return-to-player”) should be communicated, with the former translating to better perceived understanding by gamblers. In this study, Newall et al. (2022) aim to experimentally compare two phrasings of the house edge against a control return-to-player to arrive at the most effective phrasing to aid gambler’s perceived chances of winning and their factual understanding of the statistical outcomes of their bet. Using a hypothetical gambling scenario, a sample of 3,000 UK-based online gamblers will be randomly assigned to receive two alternative phrasings of the house edge or the equivalent return-to-player information. Two outcome measures will be used to judge the effectiveness of the house edge information: gamblers’ perceived changes of winning and rates of accurate responding on a multiple-choice question measuring factual understanding of this information. This study will therefore assess the most effective communication of gambling risk, which can inform public health policies to reduce gambling-related harm.
Following a positive initial appraisal, and after 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/5npy9
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. Newall, P. W. S., James, R. J. E. & Maynard, O. M. (2022). How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered Report, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/5npy9 | How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered Report | Philip Newall, Richard James, Olivia Maynard | <p>The provision of information to consumers is a common input to tackling various public health issues. By comparison to the information given on food and alcohol products, information on gambling products is either not given at all, or shown in ... | Social sciences | Charlotte Pennington | 2022-07-18 16:25:06 | View | ||
How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered ReportPhilip Newall, Richard James, Olivia Maynard https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pfnzdDoes relaying ‘house edge’ information influence gambler’s perceived chances of winning and their factual understanding of the statistical outcomes?Recommended by Charlotte PenningtonMany products that can impact upon health and wellbeing (e.g., alcohol, food) relay information to consumers about the potential risks. However, such information is commonly provided in suboptimal format for gambling-related products. To encourage safer gambling, research has therefore recommended that information about the average loss from a gambling product (“house edge”) or percentage payout (“return-to-player”) should be communicated, with the former translating to better perceived understanding by gamblers. This Registered Report aimed to experimentally compare two phrasings of the house edge against a control return-to-player to arrive at the most effective phrasing to aid gambler’s perceived chances of winning and their factual understanding of the statistical outcomes of their bet. Using a hypothetical gambling scenario, a sample of 3,333 UK-based online gamblers received one of three phrasings: an original house-edge (“his game keeps 10% of all money bet on average”), an alternative house-edge (“on average this game is programmed to cost you 10% of your stake on each bet”) or return-to-player (“this game has an average percentage payout of 90%”). Two outcome measures were employed to judge the effectiveness of this information: gamblers’ perceived changes of winning and factual understanding. The findings indicate that the two-house edge formats were more effective in communicating gambling-related harms than the return-to-player format, but the original house edge phrasing appeared to be the most optimal as it decreased gambler’s perceived chances of winning and increased their factual understanding compared to return-to-player. These results can therefore inform public health policies to reduce gambling-related harm by presenting the most effective communication of gambling risk.
After two in-depth reviews, 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/5npy9
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. Newall, P. W. S., James, R. J. E. & Maynard, O. M. (2023). How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered Report. Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pfnzd | How does the phrasing of house edge information affect gamblers’ perceptions and level of understanding? A Registered Report | Philip Newall, Richard James, Olivia Maynard | <p>The provision of information to consumers is a common input to tackling various public health issues. By comparison to the information given on food and alcohol products, information on gambling products is either not given at all, or shown in ... | Social sciences | Charlotte Pennington | Zhang Chen | 2023-01-09 14:56:36 | View | |
26 Jun 2024
STAGE 1
![]() Do Scarcity-Related Cues Affect the Sustained Attentional Performance of the Poor and the Rich Differently?Peter Szecsi, Miklos Bognar, Barnabas Szaszi https://osf.io/5sdbpHow does economic status moderate the effect of scarcity cues on attentional performance?Recommended by Matti VuorreThis Stage 1 registered report by Szecsi et al. (2024) seeks to clarify whether individuals' economic conditions moderate how scarcity cues affect their attentional performance. This idea has been previously explored: Here, the authors aim to clarify understanding of the how scarcity cues affect cognition by studying a large and diverse Hungarian sample with improved experimental methods.
Specifically, while it has been previously reported that financially less well-off individuals' are differentially affected by finance-related stimuli (e.g. Shah et al., 2018), Szecsi et al. (2024) argue that prior studies have used small samples with insufficient consideration of potentially important demographic variables. Therefore, the generalizability of prior studies might be lacking.
Second, Szecsi et al. (2024) aim to conduct a more realistic experiment by asking participants to free-associate in response to financial scarcity-related cues, whereas prior studies have often focused on simply querying for rating responses, which might not sufficiently engage the related cognitive mechanisms that could be most affected.
In the proposed study, then, the authors will rigorously test whether financially less well-off individuals have lower attentional performance while experiencing scarcity-related cues than individuals who are financially better off, and that attentional performance does not differ while experiencing non-scarcity related cues. Ultimately, Szecsi et al. propose to shed light on theories of scarcity-related cognition that posit overall decrements in attentional performance irrespective of individuals' financial status.
The Stage 1 manuscript was initially reviewed by two experts in the area, who both recommended several improvements to the study. The authors then thoroughly revised their write-up and protocol, and the two reviewers were satisfied with the substance of these revisions. Based on these evaluations, the recommender judged that the Stage 1 criteria were met and awarded in-principle acceptance. There were remaining editorial clarifications and suggestions which the authors can incorporate in their eventual Stage 2 report.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/3zdyb
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. Shah, A. K., Zhao, J., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2018). Money in the mental lives of the poor. Social Cognition, 36, 4-19. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2018.36.1.4
2. Szecsi, P., Bognar, M., & Szaszi, B., (2024). Do Scarcity-Related Cues Affect the Sustained Attentional Performance of the Poor and the Rich Differently? In principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/3zdyb
| Do Scarcity-Related Cues Affect the Sustained Attentional Performance of the Poor and the Rich Differently? | Peter Szecsi, Miklos Bognar, Barnabas Szaszi | <p>Cues related to financial scarcity are commonly present in the daily environment shaping people’s mental lives. However, the results are mixed on whether such scarcity-related cues disproportionately deteriorate the cognitive performance of poo... | Social sciences | Matti Vuorre | Ernst-Jan de Bruijn, Leon Hilbert | 2024-01-18 14:29:03 | View | |
22 Oct 2023
STAGE 1
![]() Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: a pre-registered replication studyPeter A. White https://osf.io/5jx8fGaining confidence in Michotte’s classic studies on the perception of causalityRecommended by Moin SyedMaking causal judgements are part of everyday life, whether seeking to understand the action of complex humans or the relations between inanimate objects in our environments. Albert Michotte’s (1963) classic book, The perception of causality, contained an extensive report of experiments demonstrating not only that observers perceive causality of inanimate shapes, but do so in manifold ways, creating different “causal impressions.” This work has been highly influential across psychology and neuroscience.
In the current study, White (2023) proposes a series of experiments to replicate and extend Michotte’s work. Despite the fact that this research is foundational to current work on perception and understanding of causal relations, it has never been subjected to rigorous replication. Moreover, like many research studies from that era, Michotte was sparse on details about methodology and did not rely on statistical analysis. White has proposed an ambitious set of 14 experiments that directly replicate and, in some cases, extend Michotte’s experiments.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over three rounds of in-depth review, the first two rounds consisting of detailed comments from two reviewers and the third round consisting of a close read by the recommender. 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/5jx8f
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. Michotte, A. (1963). The perception of causality (T. R. Miles & E. Miles, trans.). London: Methuen. (English translation of Michotte, 1954).
2. White, P. A. (2023). Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: A registered replication study. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/5jx8f
| Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: a pre-registered replication study | Peter A. White | <p> Michotte (1946/1954/1963) showed that visual impressions of causality can occur in perception of simple animations of moving geometrical objects. In the launching effect, one object is perceived as maki... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Moin Syed | 2023-05-03 13:04:00 | View | ||
Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: a registered replication studyPeter A. White https://osf.io/jdac7Michotte’s classic studies on the perception of causality: Replications, extensions and a sound base for further researchRecommended by Moin SyedMaking causal judgements are part of everyday life, whether seeking to understand the action of complex humans or the relations between inanimate objects in our environments. Albert Michotte’s (1963) classic book, The perception of causality, contained an extensive report of experiments demonstrating not only that observers perceive causality of inanimate shapes, but do so in manifold ways, creating different “causal impressions.” This work has been highly influential across psychology and neuroscience.
In the current study, White (2025) conducted 14 experiments aimed at replicating and extending Michotte’s work. Despite the fact that this research is foundational to current work on perception and understanding of causal relations, it has never been subject to rigorous replication. Moreover, like many research studies from that era, Michotte was sparse on details about methodology and did not rely on statistical analysis. White carried out an ambitious set of 14 experiments and 18 hypotheses that directly replicated and, in some cases, extended Michotte’s experiments. The results of the experiments were mixed, with the hypotheses evenly divided among being supported, partially supported, and not supported. The current effort by White not only brings rigorous contemporary data to classic studies of perceptual impressions of causality, but the results point to important new directions for future study on the topic. In particular, the findings suggest a need to broaden our investigations of causal explanations of movement beyond launching (i.e., contact of one object leading to motion of another) to also consider entraining (i.e., joint movement following contact) and pulling. The collected studies provide fertile ground for further testing a variety of mechanisms that explain different perceptual impressions of causality.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over three rounds of in-depth review, the first two rounds consisting of detailed comments from two reviewers and the third round consisting of a close read by the recommender. 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/5jx8f
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. Michotte, A. (1963). The perception of causality (T. R. Miles & E. Miles, trans.). London: Methuen. (English translation of Michotte, 1954).
2. White, P. A. (2025). Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: A registered replication study [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/jdac7
| Michotte's research on perceptual impressions of causality: a registered replication study | Peter A. White | <p> Michotte (1946/1954/1963) showed that visual impressions of causality can occur in perception of simple animations of moving geometrical objects. In the launching effect, one object is perceived a... | Social sciences | Moin Syed | 2024-10-07 10:53:33 | View | ||
29 Jan 2025
STAGE 1
![]() Does synchronised singing enhance social bonding more than speaking does? A global experimental Stage 1 Registered ReportPatrick E. Savage, Adwoa Ampiah-Bonney, Aleksandar Arabadjiev, Adwoa Arhine, Juan F. Ariza, Joshua Silberstein Bamford, Brenda Suyanne Barbosa, Ann-Kathrin Beck, Michel Belyk, Emmanouil Benetos, Damián Ezequiel Blasi, Joseph Bulbulia, Anne Cabildo, Sasha Calhoun, Gakuto Chiba, Stephen Ithel Duran, Ulvhild Færøvik, Tecumseh Fitch, Shinya Fujii, Shira Gabriel, Felix Haiduk, Niels Chr. Hansen, Shantala Hegde, Ferenc Honbolygó, Jiawen Huang, Nori Jacoby, Yannick Jadoul, Zixuan Jia, Taeyun Jung, Csab... https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/pv3m9Do humans bond more when singing together or speaking together? A global investigationRecommended by Katherine MooreMusic is a universal across human cultures, but there is debate as to why and how it evolved. For example, Pinker has famously argued that music is “auditory cheesecake,” with no biological value (Pinker, 1997). Most scholars on the evolution of music make comparisons with language, another human universal that is unique to our species (Friederici, 2017). A current leading hypothesis in the evolution of music is the social bonding hypothesis, which suggests that music plays a special role in social bonding beyond the role that language plays (Savage et al., 2021).
Previous studies have provided evidence that synchronized music-making can promote social bonding (e.g. Stupacher et al., 2021). However, it is unclear whether synchronous singing provides any advantage in social bonding as compared to merely speaking. Previous work on this topic has at times lacked sufficient controls and has potentially been subject to publication bias—it could be that only the studies with statistically significant findings are in the published literature, when in fact additional experiments may have been run with unpublished null results. Also critically, prior studies have been subject to sampling bias—the vast majority are limited to a small set of cultures and musical styles, focusing primarily on English-speaking cultures and western music (Henrich & Heine, 2010). If music has evolved as a mechanism for social bonding, then it is especially critical to demonstrate its effects on social bonding across a wide range of cultures.
In a remarkable global collaboration including 88 collaborators from six continents, Savage et al. (2025) plan to collect data on synchronized singing and speech from 1710 participants across 57 research sites. Participants will be assigned to participate in (1) a synchronized singing activity, (2) a synchronized speech activity, or (3) a natural, prompted conversation.
At each research site, participants will gather in groups of 5-10 and will be randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (for the research site to be valid, it must recruit one group of participants into each condition). The experiment will start with pre-test measures of social bonding and other variables. Next, the intervention will commence. In the singing condition, participants will synchronously sing a song that is highly familiar in that culture. In the lyrics recitation condition, participants will synchronously speak printed lyrics to the songs from the singing condition (twice through, to account for speed differences in song and speech). In the conversation condition, participants will have a natural conversation in response to an ice-breaker question. Finally, each group will engage in post-test measures of social bonding as well as debriefing.
The social bonding hypothesis predicts that participants in the synchronized singing task will experience more social bonding (as measured by a pre- and post-test differences) than will participants who engage in sequential conversation or synchronous lyrics recitation in the absence of musical pitch or rhythm. The unprecedented scale of this global, cross-cultural investigation will make a great impact on the field and on our understanding of the relationship among speech, song, and social connection, regardless of the outcome.
Four expert reviewers provided valuable feedback through two rounds of review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers’ and the recommender’s 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/7t4ck
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. Friederici, A. (2017). Language in Our Brain: The Origins of a Uniquely Human Capacity. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262036924.001.0001
2. Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61-83. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x0999152x
3. Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. WW Norton & Company.
4. Savage, P. E., Loui, P., Tarr, B., Schachner, A., Glowacki, L., Mithen, S., & Fitch, W. T. (2021). Music as a coevolved system for social bonding. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, e59. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20000333
5. Savage, P. E. et al. (2025). Does synchronised singing enhance social bonding more than speaking does? A global experimental Stage 1 Registered Report. In principle acceptance of Version 7 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/7t4ck
6. Stupacher, J., Mikkelsen, J., & Vuust, P. (2022). Higher empathy is associated with stronger social bonding when moving together with music. Psychology of Music, 50, 1511-1526. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356211050681
| Does synchronised singing enhance social bonding more than speaking does? A global experimental Stage 1 Registered Report | Patrick E. Savage, Adwoa Ampiah-Bonney, Aleksandar Arabadjiev, Adwoa Arhine, Juan F. Ariza, Joshua Silberstein Bamford, Brenda Suyanne Barbosa, Ann-Kathrin Beck, Michel Belyk, Emmanouil Benetos, Damián Ezequiel Blasi, Joseph Bulbulia, Anne Cabildo... | <p>The evolution of music, speech, and sociality have been debated since before Darwin. The social bonding hypothesis proposes that these phenomena may be interlinked: musicality may have facilitated the evolution of social bonding beyond the poss... | ![]() | Social sciences | Katherine Moore | Manuela Maria Marin, Anja Göritz, Melissa Brandon, Erin Hannon | 2024-09-02 06:01:32 | View |
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