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IdTitle * Authors * Abstract * PictureThematic fields * RecommenderReviewers▲Submission date
17 Jun 2024
STAGE 1

Loneliness in the Brain: Distinguishing Between Hypersensitivity and Hyperalertness

A new look at loneliness by testing hyperalterness

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO and ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Marta Andreatta and 1 anonymous reviewer
Do people who are more alert towards social stimuli vary in loneliness? This report addresses the question how loneliness relates to hypersensitivity to social stimuli using an oddball paradigm. Based on preliminary results, the study plans to compare high and low lonely individuals for how they react to happy and angry facial expressions using neurophysiological correlates. Findings from the study will provide further insights in how loneliness might be related to processing of social information.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' and recommender's comments, 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/fxngv
 
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. Bathelt, J., Dijk, C., & Otten, M. (2024). Loneliness in the Brain: Distinguishing Between Hypersensitivity and Hyperalertness. In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/fxngv
Loneliness in the Brain: Distinguishing Between Hypersensitivity and HyperalertnessJoe Bathelt, Corine Dijk, Marte Otten<p>Introduction: Loneliness has emerged as a pressing public health issue, necessitating greater understanding of its mechanisms to devise effective treatments. While the link between loneliness and biased social cognition is a commonly proposed, ...Social sciencesHedwig Eisenbarth Marta Andreatta, Anonymous2023-11-20 16:34:04 View
30 Sep 2024
STAGE 1

The effect of covert visual attention on pupil size during perceptual fading

Does pupil size track high-level attention?

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO and ORCID_LOGO 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 fadingAna 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 sciencesD. Samuel Schwarzkopf Martin Rolfs2024-01-18 13:28:02 View
21 Jan 2025
STAGE 2
(Go to stage 1)

Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online video games

Expanding the Intervention Potential of Tabletop Role-Playing Games

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Charlotte Pennington, Matúš Adamkovič and Matti Vuorre
The human capacity and need for play has been recognized as a central psychotherapeutic component for a long time (e.g. Winnicott 1971). More recently, experts have started developing specialized digital gameplay to be used as therapeutic tools and even utilizing existing videogames for similar purposes (see Ceranoglu 2010). On the other hand, the concerns about some players becoming overinvolved in videogames also led the World Health Organization to include “gaming disorder” in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, which echoes the nuance required to address human-technology relationships in general.  
 
In the present registered report, Billieux et al. (2024) make use of analog structured role-play in a new intervention aiming to mitigate social anxiety and problematic gaming patterns in online gamers. The authors carried out an exploratory pilot to test a 10-week protocol over three modules inspired by the well-known Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Through a multiple single-case design with a 3-month follow-up, the authors carried out the pilot with 20 participants (two dropped out), which enabled collecting valuable early data about the feasibility and potential of the intervention. 
 
Weekly psychometric assessments indicated that the intervention may support participants and it should continue to be studied in order to comprehensively evaluate its effectiveness. Feedback obtained from participants and other parts of the pilot project enabled identifying elements (e.g., difficulty adjustments), which can be given attention usefully in intervention development. Without question, the study by Billieux et al. (2024) is to be commended for highly transparent documentation of the project, which allows future researchers and intervention developers to learn from the pilot beyond initial results. Among other relevant materials, the supplements provide a detailed case study and item-level psychometric reporting, which can help the development of technical solutions and new hypotheses.
 
Taken together, the study by Billieux et al. (2024) paves the way for open science invention piloting in the field. The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated by three experts (areas: experimental methods, psychopathology, gaming) via in-depth peer review across two rounds. Based on the authors’ careful responses and revisions, the revised manuscript was judged to meet the Stage 2 criteria and was awarded a positive recommendation. 
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/h7qat

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. Billieux, J., Fournier, L., Rochat, L., Georgieva, I., Eben, C., Malmdorf Andersen, M., King, D., Simon, O., Khazaal, Y., Lieberoth, A. & Blocha., J. (2024) Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online videogames [Stage 2 RR]. Acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/z32d5
 
2. Ceranoglu, T. (2010). Video Games in Psychotherapy. Review of General Psychology, 14 (2). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019439
 
3. Winnicott, D. (1971/2009). Playing and Reality. Routledge.
Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online video gamesJoël Billieux, Loïs Fournier, Lucien Rochat, Iliyana Georgieva, Charlotte Eben, Marc Malmdorf Andersen, Daniel L. King, Olivier Simon, Yasser Khazaal, Andreas Lieberoth, Jonathan Bloch<p><strong>Background</strong>. Gamers with poor self-concept, high social anxiety, and high loneliness are more at risk of problematic involvement in video games, particularly in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). There is...Social sciencesVeli-Matti Karhulahti Matti Vuorre, Matúš Adamkovič, Charlotte Pennington2024-08-30 11:29:55 View
14 Apr 2023
STAGE 1

Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online videogames

Expanding the Intervention Potential of Tabletop Role-Playing Games

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Charlotte Pennington, Matúš Adamkovič and Matti Vuorre
The human capacity and need for play has been recognized as a central psychotherapeutic component for a long time (e.g. Winnicott 1971). More recently, experts have started developing specialized digital gameplay to be used as therapeutic tools and even utilizing existing videogames for similar purposes (see Ceranoglu 2010). On the other hand, the concerns about some players becoming overinvolved in videogames also led the World Health Organization to include “gaming disorder” in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, which echoes the nuance required to address human-technology relationships in general.  
 
In the present registered report, Billieux et al. (2023) make use of analog structured role-play in a new intervention aiming to mitigate social anxiety and problematic gaming patterns in online gamers. The authors carry out an exploratory pilot to test a 10-week protocol over three modules inspired by the well-known Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Through multiple single-case design, the authors explore the feasibility of the intervention and its effectiveness on social skills, self-esteem, loneliness, assertiveness, and gaming disorder symptoms.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds by three experts with experimental specializations in psychopathology and gaming. Based on the comprehensive responses to the reviewers' feedback, 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/h7qat

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. Billieux  J., Bloch J., Rochat L., Fournier L., Georgieva I., Eben C., Andersen M. M., King D. L., Simon O., Khazaal Y. & Lieberoth A. (2023). Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online videogames. In principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/h7qat
 
2. Ceranoglu, T. (2010). Video Games in Psychotherapy. Review of General Psychology, 14 (2). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019439
 
3. Winnicott, D. (1971/2009). Playing and Reality. Routledge.
Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot program using offline Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online videogamesJoël Billieux, Jonathan Bloch, Lucien Rochat, Loïs Fournier, Iliyana Georgieva, Charlotte Eben, Marc Malmdorf Andersen, Daniel Luke King, Olivier Simon, Yasser Khazaal, Andreas Lieberoth<p><strong>Background</strong>. Gamers with poor self-concept, high social anxiety, and high loneliness are more at risk of problematic involvement in videogames and particularly in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) than ot...Social sciencesVeli-Matti Karhulahti Matúš Adamkovič, Matti Vuorre, Charlotte Pennington2023-02-06 11:09:55 View
29 Jan 2025
STAGE 1
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Does synchronised singing enhance social bonding more than speaking does? A global experimental Stage 1 Registered Report

Do humans bond more when singing together or speaking together? A global investigation

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Melissa Brandon, Erin Hannon, Manuela Maria Marin and Anja Göritz
Music 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 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...<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 sciencesKatherine Moore Melissa Brandon, Manuela Maria Marin, Anja Göritz, Erin Hannon2024-09-02 06:01:32 View
15 Apr 2023
STAGE 1
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Reconstructing Gaming Disorder: A Taxonomy by Registered Report

How can the experiences of those who engage in video games in healthy and unhealthy ways be systematically organised?

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Michelle Carras, Lukas J. Gunschera and Christopher Ferguson
People are often drawn into intensive video game use in ways they or others may find troubling, harmless or even praiseworthy. Understanding these different experiences may help with integrating intensive technology use into everyday life in a healthy way.
 
In this programmatic submission, Karhulahti et al. (2023) will explore the gaming experiences of three groups of people (those who have sought treatment for gaming, esport players, and adolescents who play around two hours every day), using phenomenological and clinical interviews, and gaming diary logs every four months over three years. Around 200-300 participants will be recruited initially from Finland, Slovakia, and South Korea. In order to further increase cross-cultural range, the study will apply a new duplication method to collect similar data also in countries that have been studied little in the past. The aim will be to answer the questions of a) Is it possible to distinguish passionate from pathological gaming by the meanings and values that players attach to videogame play? and b) What are the design structures of videogames, which are played intensively and/or with gaming-related health problems? Ultimately, the study aims to synthesise all its data into a new taxonomic system, which can help better understand the differences and idiosyncrasies of gaming in lives across cultures.
 
This Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on the comprehensive responses to the reviewers' feedback, 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/ekm8x
 
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
Karhulahti, V.-M., Martončik. M., Siutila, M., Park, S., Jin, J., Adamkovič, M., Auranen, T., Na, B., & Yoon, T.-J. (2023). Reconstructing Gaming Disorder: A Taxonomy by Registered Report​, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/ekm8x
Reconstructing Gaming Disorder: A Taxonomy by Registered ReportVeli-Matti Karhulahti, Marcel Martončik, Miia Siutila, Solip Park, Yaewon Jin, Matúš Adamkovič, Tiina Auranen, Bora Na, Tae-Jin Yoon<p style="text-align: justify;">Videogames have become one of the most prevalent cultural forms around the world. While their role in art, pedagogy, and everyday life keeps growing, the health debates on videogame play—gaming—culminated in 2022 wi...Humanities, Medical Sciences, Social sciencesZoltan Dienes Oluwaseyi Adeliyi, Abiola Akinnubi 2022-10-10 15:09:55 View
21 Feb 2022
STAGE 1
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Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Jean-François Gerard, Rachel Harrison and 1 anonymous reviewer

This submission has been withdrawn (see notice below)

Sex-biased dispersal is widely acknowledged to influence range expansion and the geographic limits of species (Trochet et al. 2016). Evidence is accruing that suggests an impact of the learning ability of species on their capacity to colonise new habitats because the ability to learn provides an advantage when confronted to novel challenges (Lee and Thornton 2021). Whether these two mechanisms interact to shape range expansion remains however unknown. One could expect this interaction because both dispersal and the ability to learn are linked to related behaviours (e.g., exploration, Lee and Thornton 2021). 

In their study entitled “Investigating sex differences in learning in a range-expanding bird”, Alexis J. Breen and Dominik Deffner (Breen and Deffner 2022) propose to test this hypothesis in range-expanding great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) by exploring the individual variation of several behavioural traits (e.g., exploration, neophobia, problem solving, Logan 2016) linked to their learning ability. They will use a colour-reward reinforcement experimental approach to compare the learning performance between male and female great-tailed grackles in three study sites and evaluate whether sex-biased learning ability interacts with sex-biased dispersal. Data will be analysed by a Bayesian reinforcement learning model (Deffner et al. 2020), which was validated. 

This Stage 1 registered report was evaluated over one round of in-depth review by Jean-François Gerard, Rachel Harrison and one anonymous reviewer, and another round of review by Jean-François Gerard and Rachel Harrison. 

Based on detailed responses to the comments and the modifications brought to the manuscript by the authors, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).

Withdrawal notice: The Stage 2 manuscript associated with this accepted Stage 1 protocol was submitted to PCI RR on 22 July 2022. On 25 July 2022, the Managing Board offered the opportunity for the authors to revise the manuscript prior to in-depth review. On 7 Sep 2022, the authors withdrew the Stage 2 manuscript from consideration due to time constraints.

 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/v3wxb
 
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

Trochet, A., Courtois, E. A., Stevens, V. M., Baguette, M., Chaine, A., Schmeller, D. S., Clobert, J., & Wiens, J. J. (2016). Evolution of sex-biased dispersal. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 91(3), 297–320. https://doi.org/10.1086/688097

Lee, V. E., & Thornton, A. (2021). Animal cognition in an urbanised world. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 120. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.633947

Logan, C. J. (2016b). Behavioral flexibility in an invasive bird is independent of other behaviors. PeerJ, 4, e2215. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2215

Deffner, D., Kleinow, V., & McElreath, R. (2020). Dynamic social learning in temporally and spatially variable environments. Royal Society Open Science, 7(12), 200734. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200734

Breen, A. J. & Deffner D. (2022). Investigating sex differences in learning in a range-expanding bird., https://github.com/alexisbreen/Sex-differences-in-grackles-learning, in principle acceptance of version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/v3wxb

[WITHDRAWN]: Investigating sex differences in learning in a range-expanding birdAlexis J. Breen & Dominik Deffner<p style="text-align: justify;">How might differences in dispersal and learning interact in range expansion dynamics? To begin to answer this question, in this preregistration we detail the background, hypothesis plus associated predictions, and m...Life SciencesBenoit Pujol Rachel Harrison, Kate Cross, Jean-François Gerard2021-11-10 13:12:04 View
19 Jan 2024
STAGE 1

A systematic review of social connection inventories

Improving the measurement of social connection

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Jacek Buczny, Richard James and Alexander Wilson
This is an ambitious systematic review that uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to make the measurement of the construct of social connection more rigorous. Social connection is a heterogeneous construct that includes aspects of structure, function and quality. Here, Paris et al. (2024) will use predefined methods to create a database of social connection measures, and will assess heterogeneity of items using human coders and ChatGPT. This database will form the basis of a second systematic review which will look at evidence for validity and measurement properties. This study will also look at the population groups and country of origin for which different measures were designed, making it possible to see how far culturally specific issues affect the content of measures in this domain.
 
The questions asked by this study are exploratory and descriptive and so the importance of pre-registration is in achieving clear criteria for how each question is addressed, rather than evidential criteria for hypothesis-testing.
 
The authors responded comprehensively to three reviewer reports. This study will provide a wealth of useful information for those studying social connection, and should serve to make the literature in this field more psychometrically robust and less fragmented.
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/796uv
 
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. Paris, B., Brickau, D., Stoianova, T., Luhmann, M., Mikton, C., Holt-Lunstad, J., Maes, A., & IJzerman, H. (2024). A systematic review of social connection inventories. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/796uv

A systematic review of social connection inventoriesBastien Paris, Debora Brickau, Tetiana Stoianova, Maike Luhmann, Christopher Mikton, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Marlies Maes, Hans IJzerman<p>Social connection is vital to health and longevity. To date, a plethora of instruments exists to measure social connection, assessing a variety of aspects of social connection like loneliness, social isolation, or social support. For comparabil...Social sciencesDorothy Bishop Richard James, Alexander Wilson, Jacek Buczny2023-07-09 21:33:01 View
27 Nov 2024
STAGE 1

Does Truth Pay? Investigating the Effectiveness of the Bayesian Truth Serum with an Interim Payment: A Registered Report

Do interim payments promote honesty in self-report? A test of the Bayesian Truth Serum

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO and ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Philipp Schoenegger, Sarahanne Miranda Field and Martin Schnuerch
Surveys that measure self-report are a workhorse in psychology and the social sciences, providing a vital window into beliefs, attitudes and emotions, both at the level of groups and individuals. The validity of self-report data, however, is an enduring methodological concern, with self-reports vulnerable to a range of response biases, including (among others) the risk of social desirability bias in which, rather than responding honestly, participants answer questions in a way that they believe will be viewed favourably by others. One proposed solution to socially desirable responding is the so-called Bayesian Truth Serum (BTS), which aims to incentivise truthfulness by taking into account the relationship between an individual’s response and their belief about the dominant (or most likely) response given by other people, and then assigning a high truthfulness score to answers that are surprisingly common.
 
Although valid in theory (under a variety of assumptions), questions remain regarding the empirical utility of the BTS. One area of concern is participants’ uncertainty regarding incentives for truth-telling – if participants don’t understand the extent to which telling the truth is in their own interests (or they don’t believe that it matters) then the validity of the BTS is undermined. In the current study, Neville and Williams (2024) aim to test the role of clarifying incentives, particularly for addressing social desirability bias when answering sensitive questions. The authors will administer an experimental survey design including sensitive questions, curated from validated scales, that are relevant to current social attitudes and sensitivities (e.g. “Men are not particularly discriminated against”, “Younger people are usually more productive than older people at their jobs”). Three groups of participants will complete the survey under different incentive conditions: the BTS delivered alone in standard format, the BTS with an interim bonus payment that is awarded to participants (based on their BTS score) half-way through the survey to increase certainty in incentives, and a Regular Incentive control group in which participants receive payment without additional incentives.
 
The authors will then address two questions: whether the BTS overall effectively incentivises honesty (the contrast of BTS alone + BTS with interim payment vs the Regular Incentive group), and whether interim payments, specifically, further boost assumed honesty (the contrast of BTS alone vs BTS with interim payment). Regardless of how the results turn out, the study promises to shed light on the effectiveness of the BTS and its dependence on the visibility of incentives, with implications for survey design in psychology and beyond.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on ​detailed responses to reviewers’ and the recommender’s comments, the recommenders 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/vuh8b
 
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
 
Neville, C. M & Williams, M. N. (2024). Does Truth Pay? Investigating the Effectiveness of the Bayesian
Truth Serum with an Interim Payment: A Registered Report. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/vuh8b
Does Truth Pay? Investigating the Effectiveness of the Bayesian Truth Serum with an Interim Payment: A Registered Report Claire M. Neville, Matt N. Williams<p>Self-report data is vital in psychological research, but biases like careless responding and socially desirable responding can compromise its validity. While various methods are employed to mitigate these biases, they have limitations. The Baye...Social sciencesRomain Espinosa Sarahanne Miranda Field, Martin Schnuerch, Philipp Schoenegger2024-05-02 06:40:18 View
21 Nov 2022
STAGE 1

Revisiting the motivated denial of mind to animals used for food: Replication and extension of Bastian et al. (2012)

Does denial of animal minds explain the "meat paradox"?

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Brock Bastian, Ben De Groeve, Florian Lange and Sebastian Berger
The psychology of meat-eating offers a fascinating window into moral reasoning, cognition and emotion, as well as applications in the shift toward more sustainable and ethical alternatives to meat consumption. One key observation in this field is the so-called “meat paradox” – the tendency for people to simultaneously eat meat while also caring about animals. One way to resolve this conflict and reduce cognitive dissonance is for people to separate the concept of meat from animals, mentally disengaging from the origins of meat in order to make the act of consumption more ethically acceptable. Another potential explanation is a motivated “denial of mind”, in which people believe that animals lack the mental capacity to experience suffering; therefore, eating an animal is not a harm that the animal will experience. In support of the latter hypothesis, Bastian et al (2012) found that animals judged to have greater mental capacities were also judged to less edible, and that simply reminding meat eaters that an animal was being raised for the purposes of meat consumption led to denial of its mental capacities.
 
Using a large-scale online design in 1000 participants, Jacobs et al. (2022) propose a replication of two studies from Bastian et al. (2012): asking how the perceived mental capabilities of animals relates to both their perceived edibility and the degree of moral concern they elicit, and whether learning that an animal will be consumed influences perceptions of its mental capabilities. Among various exploratory analyses, the authors will also examine whether the perception of animal minds (in animals consumed for meat) varies systematically according to species.
 
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/cru4z
 
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. Bastian, B., Loughnan, S., Haslam, N., & Radke, H. R. M. (2012). Don’t mind meat? The denial of mind to animals used for human consumption. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 247–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211424291
 
2. Jacobs, T. P., Wang, M., Leach, S., Loong, S. H., Khanna, M., Chan, K. W., Chau, H. T., Tam, Y. Y. & Feldman, G. (2022). Revisiting the motivated denial of mind to animals used for food: Replication and extension of Bastian et al. (2012), in principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/cru4z
Revisiting the motivated denial of mind to animals used for food: Replication and extension of Bastian et al. (2012) Tyler P. Jacobs, Meiying Wang, Stefan Leach, Siu Ho Loong, Mahika Khanna, Ka Wan Chan, Ho Ting Chau, Yuen Yan Tam, Gilad Feldman<p>This is a scheduled PCI-RR snap shot for a planned project: "Revisiting the motivated denial of mind to animals used for food: Replication and extension of Bastian et al. (2012) ​"</p>Social sciencesChris Chambers Sebastian Berger, Ben De Groeve, Florian Lange, Brock Bastian2022-03-04 04:21:18 View