Announcements
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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 | |
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10 Jan 2025
STAGE 1
![]() Development and evaluation of a revised 20-item short version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior ScaleLoïs Fournier, Alexandre Heeren, Stéphanie Baggio, Luke Clark, Antonio Verdejo-García, José C. Perales, Joël Billieux https://osf.io/wevc4Assessing Impulsivity Measurement (UPPS-P-20-R)Recommended by Veli-Matti KarhulahtiImpulsivity, as a construct, operates by an established history with various models and theories (Leshem & Glicksohn 2007) having accumulated evidence of relevance especially for mental disorders. One of the dominant models, the Impulsive Behavior Model, is conventionally measured in survey studies with UPPS-P scales, a short version of which was recently assessed in a large cross-cultural project (Fournier et al. 2024). In the present study, Fournier and colleagues (2025) aim to further test the revised 20-item scale in English via a three-phase protocol involving evaluations of construct validity, internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and criterion validity. As such, the study contributes to ongoing important development of useful and up-to-date survey scales, which can help researchers avoid measurement issues (Flake & Fried 2020) in various fields where, in this case, impulsivity plays a role.
The study was reviewed over three rounds by two reviewers, with respective topic and methods expertise. Based on detailed responses to reviewers’ feedback and the recommender’s comments on the construct, 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/wevc4 (under temporary private embargo)
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. Flake, J. K. & Fried, E. I. (2020). Measurement schmeasurement: Questionable measurement practices and how to avoid them. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 3, 456-465. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245920952393
2. Fournier, L., Bőthe, … & Billieux, J. (2024). Evaluating the factor structure and measurement invariance of the 20-item short version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale across multiple countries, languages, and gender identities. Assessment, 10731911241259560. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241259560
3. Fournier, L., Heeren, A., Baggio, S., Clark, L., Verdejo-García, A., Perales J.C., Billieux J. (2025) Development and evaluation of a revised 20-item short version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/wevc4
4. Leshem, R. & Glicksohn, J. (2007). The construct of impulsivity revisited. Personality and individual Differences, 43, 681-691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.015
| Development and evaluation of a revised 20-item short version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale | Loïs Fournier, Alexandre Heeren, Stéphanie Baggio, Luke Clark, Antonio Verdejo-García, José C. Perales, Joël Billieux | <p style="text-align: justify;">The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale is a well-established psychometric instrument for assessing impulsivity, a key psychological construct transdiagnostically involved in the etiology of numerous psychiatric and neu... | ![]() | Social sciences | Veli-Matti Karhulahti | Ivan Ropovik | 2024-06-27 17:47:17 | View |
06 Feb 2025
STAGE 1
![]() Disentangling the Influences of Curiosity and Active Exploration on Cognitive Map FormationEllen M. O'Donoghue, Danlu Cen, Matthias J. Gruber https://osf.io/wg3tmInvestigating influences of curiosity and active exploration on spatial memoryRecommended by Douglas MarkantA growing body of research suggests that feelings of curiosity are associated with better memory for new information. However, while curiosity has been broadly defined as an instrinsic drive to obtain information, much of this existing work has focused on learning of trivia facts or factual information, settings where people have relatively little freedom to actively explore aspects of the environment that generate those feelings of curiosity. In this Stage 1 manuscript, O'Donoghue, Cen, and Gruber (2025) propose to conduct an experiment to examine whether feelings of curiosity promote the formation of cognitive maps when exploring novel spatial environments. Participants will encounter a series of virtual rooms for which they report their level of curiosity before exploring each room. The experiment will compare groups of participants who can actively explore for themselves vs. passive observers of the same exploration patterns. The proposed analyses will examine whether anticipatory curiosity leads to better memory for the spatial environments for both active or passive participants, or if benefits to memory are mediated by active participants' ability to act of their feelings of curiosity through their exploration of the environment. The findings of the study will provide new insight into the mechanisms through which anticipatory curiosity enhances memory.
The Stage 1 submission was evaluated by three expert reviewers. After three rounds of revision, the recommender determined that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/86r3x
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. O'Donoghue, E. M., Cen, D., & Gruber, M. (2025). Disentangling the Influences of Curiosity and Active Exploration on Cognitive Map Formation. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/86r3x
| Disentangling the Influences of Curiosity and Active Exploration on Cognitive Map Formation | Ellen M. O'Donoghue, Danlu Cen, Matthias J. Gruber | <p>Curiosity has long been assumed to promote exploration, and in turn, to support cognitive map formation. However, little research has directly investigated these claims. Recently, Cen et al. (2024) demonstrated that when participants feel more ... | Social sciences | Douglas Markant | 2024-06-28 10:30:38 | View | ||
20 Mar 2023
STAGE 1
![]() Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird SpeciesAnneleen Dewulf, Clara Garcia-Co, Wendt Müller, Joah R. Madden, An Martel, Luc Lens, & Frederick Verbruggen https://osf.io/vpxw8?view_only=db4c1a620de841c28d7fc9a52e326cfdWhat is the role of sensory perception in cognitive task performance? An improved replication of detour performance in four different bird speciesRecommended by Dieter LukasThe detour task, where an individual has to navigate around a see-through barrier in order to reach a goal, is one of the oldest paradigms used in animal cognition research (Kabadayi et al. 2018). While these previous tests have documented variation in the ability of animals to inhibit going straight for the visible but blocked reward, the cognitive underpinnings of this behaviour are as yet not fully understood. In the current study, Dewulf et al. (2023) propose to assess one of the specific cognitive processes that might be involved in this behaviour. Through experimental procedures, they will compare the role of signal detection in inhibitory response performance in a detour task. To assess whether variation in detection of the barrier might be linked to the ecological niche of a species, they will compare four bird species who live in different environments. Individuals from these four species were previously tested in a detour task (Regolin et al. 1994, Zucca et al. 2005), and the proposed research plan therefore also involves a partial replication of previous studies on the same issue, but improving some critical aspects.
The Stage 1 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 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
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.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/qvxgh
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
Dewulf, A., Garcia-Co, C., Müller, W., Madden, J.R., Martel, A., Lens, L. & Verbruggen, F. (2023). Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird Species. In principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/qvxgh
Kabadayi, C., Bobrowicz, K., & Osvath, M. (2018). The detour paradigm in animal cognition. Animal Cognition, 21, 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1152-0
Regolin L, G Vallortigara, and M Zanforlin (1994). Perceptual and motivational aspects of detour behaviour in young chicks. Animal Behaviour 47, 123–131. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1994.1014
Zucca P, F Antonelli, and G Vallortigara (2005). Detour behaviour in three species of birds: quails (Coturnix sp.), herring gulls (Larus cachinnans) and canaries (Serinus canaria). Animal Cognition, 8, 122–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-004-0243-x
| Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird Species | Anneleen Dewulf, Clara Garcia-Co, Wendt Müller, Joah R. Madden, An Martel, Luc Lens, & Frederick Verbruggen | <p>Response inhibition, or the stopping of actions, is considered a key component of flexible and adaptive behavior. Across fields,response inhibition is often treated as a unitary cognitive mechanism. However, we propose that response inhibition ... | Social sciences | Dieter Lukas | 2022-11-30 19:25:43 | View | ||
Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird SpeciesAnneleen Dewulf, Clara Garcia-Co, Wendt Müller, Joah R. Madden, An Martel, Luc Lens, Frederick Verbruggen https://osf.io/j2k9hWhat is the role of sensory perception in cognitive task performance? An improved replication of detour performance in four different bird speciesRecommended by Dieter LukasThe detour task, where an individual has to go around a see-through barrier in order to reach a goal, is one of the oldest paradigms used in animal cognition research (Kabadayi et al. 2018). While these previous tests have documented variation in the ability of animals to inhibit going straight for the visible reward, the cognitive underpinnings of this behaviour are as yet not fully understood. In the current study, Dewulf et al. (2025) assessed one of the specific cognitive processes that might be involved in this behaviour, the ability to identify the transparent object as a barrier. Through experimental procedures relying on large samples of individuals from four bird species, they compared the role of signal detection in inhibitory response performance in a detour task. The authors found that, unlike suggested in previous work with these four species (Regolin et al. 1994, Zucca et al. 2005), changing the markings on the barriers to potentially better match those experienced by individuals in their natural environments did not improve their performance. Nevertheless, the detailed further explorations suggest that in order to understand variation in how quickly individuals and species solve the detour task, it is important to consider that different cognitive processes are involved. Their work therefore provides a basis to better understand and further investigate why species might differ in their performance in the detour task.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review, the first round consisting of detailed comments from two reviewers and the second 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.
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.
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/qvxgh
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Dewulf, A., Garcia-Co, C., Müller, W., Madden, J.R., Martel, A., Lens, L. & Verbruggen, F. (2025). Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird Species [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/j2k9h
2. Kabadayi, C., Bobrowicz, K., & Osvath, M. (2018). The detour paradigm in animal cognition. Animal Cognition, 21, 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1152-0
3. Regolin, L., Vallortigara, G., & Zanforlin, M. (1995). Object and spatial representations in detour problems by chicks. Animal Behaviour, 49, 195-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(95)80167-7
4. Zucca, P., Antonelli, F., & Vallortigara, G. (2005). Detour behaviour in three species of birds: quails (Coturnix sp.), herring gulls (Larus cachinnans) and canaries (Serinus canaria). Animal Cognition, 8, 122-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-004-0243-x
| Do Ecological Valid Stop Signals Aid Detour Performance? A Comparison of Four Bird Species | Anneleen Dewulf, Clara Garcia-Co, Wendt Müller, Joah R. Madden, An Martel, Luc Lens, Frederick Verbruggen | <p>Response inhibition, or the stopping of actions, is considered a key component of flexible and adaptive behaviour. Across fields, response inhibition is often treated as a unitary cognitive mechanism. However, we propose that response inhibitio... | Life Sciences, Social sciences | Dieter Lukas | 2024-10-22 14:00:30 | View | ||
15 Sep 2023
STAGE 1
![]() Do error predictions of perceived exertion inform the level of running pleasure?Damien Brevers, Guillaume Martinent, İrem Tuğçe Öz, Olivier Desmedt, Bas de Geus https://osf.io/y8d9mDoes running pleasure result from finding it easier than you thought you would?Recommended by Zoltan DienesThe reward value of a stimulus is based on an error in prediction: Things going better than predicted. Could this learning principle, often tested on short acting stimuli, also apply to a long lasting episode, like going for a run? Could how rewarding a run is be based on the run going better than predicted?
Understanding the conditions under which exercise is pleasurable could of course be relevant to tempting people to do more of it! Brevers et al. (2023) will ask people before a daily run to predict the amount of perceived exertion they will experience; then just after the run, to rate the retrospective amount of perceived exertion actually experienced. The difference between the two ratings is the prediction error.
Participants will also rate their remembered pleasure in running and the authors will investigate whether running pleasure depends on prediction error.
The study plan was refined across four rounds of review, with input from two external reviewers and the recommender, after which it was judged to satisfy the Stage 1 criteria for in-principle acceptance (IPA). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/xh724
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. Brevers, D., Martinent, G., Oz, I. T., Desmedt, O. & de Geus, B. (2023). Do error predictions of perceived exertion inform the level of running pleasure? In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/xh724 | Do error predictions of perceived exertion inform the level of running pleasure? | Damien Brevers, Guillaume Martinent, İrem Tuğçe Öz, Olivier Desmedt, Bas de Geus | <p>Humans have the ability to mentally project themselves into future events (prospective thinking) to promote the implementation of health-oriented behaviors, such as the planning of daily sessions of physical exercise. Nevertheless, it is curren... | Social sciences | Zoltan Dienes | 2023-04-21 17:40:50 | View | ||
15 Feb 2022
STAGE 1
![]() Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trialBarnabas Szaszi, Bence Palfi, Gabor Neszveda, Aikaterini Taka, Peter Szecsi, Christopher Blattman, Julian C. Jamison, Margaret Sheridan https://osf.io/2r8a9/?view_only=1781fb681edc4cdeb61287172cd14ba2Understanding the effect of unconditional cash transfers on cognitionRecommended by Chris ChambersOver the last decade, a growing body of evidence has revealed potential benefits of unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) on a variety of outcomes, including self-reported happiness and life satisfaction (Haushofer & Shapiro, 2016), economic and financial well-being (Blattman et al., 2013; Baird et al., 2018) and educational attainment (Baird et al., 2016). Although the effects of UCTs do not always out-perform rigorous control conditions (Whillans & West, 2022), these findings prompt the question of whether the alleviation of poverty via UCTs can also influence cognitive processing and performance. In the current study, Szaszi et al. propose to analyse the results of a previous randomised trial of UCTs by Blattman et al. (2017) to test whether a $200 lump sum administered to a sample of young men in Liberia carries both short- and long-term benefits for a range of executive functions, including attention, response inhibition, and working memory capacity. The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/k56yv Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals: References 1. Haushofer, J. & Shapiro, J. (2016). The short-term impact of unconditional cash transfers to the poor: Experimental evidence from Kenya. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 13, 1973–2042. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw025
2. Blattman, C., Fiala, N. & Martinez, S. (2013) Generating skilled self-employment in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Uganda. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129, 697–752. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjt057
3. Baird, S., McKenzie, D., & Özler, B. (2018). The effects of cash transfers on adult labor market outcomes. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40176-018-0131-9
4. Baird, S., Chirwa, E., De Hoop, J., & Özler, B. (2016). Girl power: cash transfers and adolescent welfare: evidence from a cluster-randomized experiment in Malawi. In African Successes, Volume II: Human Capital (pp. 139-164). University of Chicago Press. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c13380/c13380.pdf
5. Whillans, A., & West, C. (2022). Alleviating time poverty among the working poor: A pre-registered longitudinal field experiment. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04352-y
6. Szaszi, B., Palfi, B., Neszveda, G., Taka, A., Szecsi, P., Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C., & Sheridan, M. (2022). Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trial, in principle acceptance of version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/k56yv
7. Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C. & Sheridan, M. (2017). Reducing crime and violence: Experimental evidence from cognitive behavioral therapy in Liberia. American Economic Review, 107, 1165–1206. http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150503
| Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long- term evidence from a randomized controlled trial | Barnabas Szaszi, Bence Palfi, Gabor Neszveda, Aikaterini Taka, Peter Szecsi, Christopher Blattman, Julian C. Jamison, Margaret Sheridan | <p>Recent findings suggest that poverty has a deteriorating effect on cognitive functioning which can reinforce existing social inequalities. In this Registered Report, we will investigate the impact of a poverty alleviation program on cognitive p... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2021-07-22 20:34:50 | View | ||
Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long-term evidence from a randomized controlled trialBarnabas Szaszi, Bence Palfi, Gabor Neszveda, Aikaterini Taka, Péter Szécsi, Christopher Blattman, Julian C. Jamison, Margaret Sheridan https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/4gyzhNo strong effect of unconditional cash transfers on cognitionRecommended by Chris ChambersRecent studies have revealed potential benefits of unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) on a variety of health and social outcomes, including self-reported happiness and life satisfaction (Haushofer & Shapiro, 2016), economic and financial well-being (Blattman et al., 2013; Baird et al., 2018) and educational attainment (Baird et al., 2016). Although the effects of UCTs do not always out-perform rigorous control conditions (Whillans & West, 2022), these findings prompt the question of whether the alleviation of poverty via UCTs can also influence cognitive processing and performance.
In the current study, Szaszi et al. analysed the results of a previous randomised trial of UCTs by Blattman et al. (2017) to test whether a $200 lump sum – equivalent to three months of income – administered to a sample of young men in Liberia carries both short- and long-term benefits for a range of executive functions, including attention, response inhibition, and working memory capacity. Overall, the results suggest minimal if any consequences of the intervention – the observed effects of UCTs on cognition were several times smaller than suggested by previous research, and the evidence for a positive effect was inconclusive. Extensive multiverse analyses showed that these findings were robust to a range of alternative analytical specifications, and the authors estimate that a sample size of nearly 5000 would be required to provide strong evidence.
In their Discussion, the authors explore a range of reasons for the negative findings compared with previous research, including the more rigorous and severe causal test enabled by the randomised trial design, the demographic homogeneity of the sample demographic, the use of pen-and-paper tests (cf. computerised tests in previous studies), and the delivery of a lump-sum cash transfer compared with a regular monthly installment. In addition, although the results were negative or inconclusive, there were hints that a positive effect of UCTs may be more evident in some cognitive domains than in others – in this case, potentially benefiting working memory more than inhibitory control. Further research would be required to confirm this hypothesis.
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on the 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/k56yv
Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that was used to answer the research question had been accessed and partially observed by the authors prior to Stage 1 acceptance, but the authors certified that they had not yet observed the key variables within the data that would be used to answer the research question AND they took additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Haushofer, J. & Shapiro, J. (2016). The short-term impact of unconditional cash transfers to the poor: Experimental evidence from Kenya. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 13, 1973–2042. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw025
2. Blattman, C., Fiala, N. & Martinez, S. (2013) Generating skilled self-employment in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Uganda. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129, 697–752. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjt057
3. Baird, S., McKenzie, D., & Özler, B. (2018). The effects of cash transfers on adult labor market outcomes. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40176-018-0131-9
4. Baird, S., Chirwa, E., De Hoop, J., & Özler, B. (2016). Girl power: cash transfers and adolescent welfare: evidence from a cluster-randomized experiment in Malawi. In African Successes, Volume II: Human Capital (pp. 139-164). University of Chicago Press. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c13380/c13380.pdf
5. Whillans, A., & West, C. (2022). Alleviating time poverty among the working poor: A pre-registered longitudinal field experiment. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04352-y
6. Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C. & Sheridan, M. (2017). Reducing crime and violence: Experimental evidence from cognitive behavioral therapy in Liberia. American Economic Review, 107, 1165–1206. http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150503
7. Szaszi, B., Palfi, B., Neszveda, G., Taka, A., Szecsi, P., Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C., & Sheridan, M. (2022). Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long-term evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Stage 2 Registered Report, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://psyarxiv.com/4gyzh
| Does alleviating poverty increase cognitive performance? Short- and long-term evidence from a randomized controlled trial | Barnabas Szaszi, Bence Palfi, Gabor Neszveda, Aikaterini Taka, Péter Szécsi, Christopher Blattman, Julian C. Jamison, Margaret Sheridan | <p>In this Registered Report, we investigated the impact of a poverty alleviation program on cognitive performance. We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial conducted on low-income, high-risk individuals in Liberia where a random half o... | Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-07-13 12:10:49 | View | ||
23 May 2023
STAGE 1
![]() Does Brooding Meaningfully Increase the Likelihood of Believing in a Conspiracy? A Registered ReportLuisa Liekefett, Simone Sebben, Julia C. Becker https://osf.io/qf2av?view_only=5286ad5b89584a0ba7d1f238db9aa0b4Does brooding increase conspiracy beliefs?Recommended by Chris ChambersThe world is seemingly awash with conspiracy theories – from well-trodden examples such as fake Moon landings, the 9/11 truth movement, and Holocaust denial, to relative newcomers including COVID as a bioweapon, QAnon, and the belief that the science of climate change has been invented or falsified. While there is a public perception that conspiracy theories are becoming more prevalent, recent evidence suggests that the rate of conspiracism is relatively stable over time (Uscinski et al., 2022). At any point in history, it seems that a certain proportion of people find themselves vulnerable to conspiracy beliefs, but what distinguishes those who do from those who don’t, and what are the causal factors?
In the current study, Liekefett et al. (2023) investigate the critical role of rumination – a perseverative and repetitive focus on negative content leading to emotional distress. In particular, the authors ask whether one component of rumination referred to as brooding (dwelling on one’s worries and distressing emotions) has a specific causal role in the formation of conspiracy beliefs. In a series of preliminary experiments, the authors first established a procedure for successfully inducing rumination, identifying various boundary conditions and requirements for a successful design. In the proposed study (of up to N=1,638), they will then ask whether the induction of brooding causes a significant increase in conspiracy beliefs. Manipulation checks will be included to confirm intervention fidelity (independently of this hypothesis), and exploratory analyses will test the effect of various moderators, as well as the causal role of a complementary manipulation of reflection – a component of rumination in which attention is focused on the issue at hand rather than one’s emotions.
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/y82bs
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. Uscinski, J., Enders, A., Klofstad, C., Seelig, M., Drochon, H., Premaratne, K. & Murthi, M. (2022) Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time? PLOS ONE 17: e0270429. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270429
2. Liekefett, L. Sebben, S. & Becker, J. C. (2023). Does Brooding Meaningfully Increase the Likelihood of Believing in a Conspiracy? Stage 1 Registered Report, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/y82bs | Does Brooding Meaningfully Increase the Likelihood of Believing in a Conspiracy? A Registered Report | Luisa Liekefett, Simone Sebben, Julia C. Becker | <p>This project aims to investigate the relationship between rumination and conspiracy beliefs. It<br>involves four pilot studies, including one observational and three experimental studies, but the<br>results were inconclusive. We suggest that ru... | Humanities, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-02-01 14:47:09 | View | ||
24 Oct 2022
STAGE 1
![]() Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgeryMolly Carlyle*, Malin Kvande*, Siri Leknes, Isabell Meier, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Marie Eikemo. *denotes equal contribution. https://osf.io/qcj5m?view_only=4238d2ee3d654c4f908a94efea82a027Is childhood adversity associated with a heightened response to opioids?Recommended by Chris ChambersA convergence of evidence suggests that early life adversity may cause dysfunction in opioid-sensitive reward systems. Childhood adversity is associated with opioid use, potentially by altering reward and motivation networks, and experimental models in animals have found that early life adversity increases and consolidates opioid seeking behaviours. Further, in a recent controlled experiment, Carlyle et al. (2021) found that opioid administration produced stronger positive responses, and weaker negative responses, in adults with a history of childhood abuse and neglect.
In the current study, Carlyle et al. seek to test the generalisability of these previous findings in a pre-operative clinical setting. Using partially observed data from an existing cohort study (N=155), the authors will test whether patients with greater experience of childhood trauma in turn exhibit a larger mood boost and express greater subjective pleasure following opioid administration. Although not a randomised experimental design, this study provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between opioid response and history of childhood adversity in a naturalistic setting, and thus has the potential to either support or cast doubt on the theory that adversity elevates risk of opioid addiction by altering sensitivity to subjectively pleasurable effects.
Following three 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/7ymts Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Carlyle M., Broomby R., Simpson G., Hannon R., Fawaz L., Mollaahmetoglu O.M., Drain, J., Mostazir, M., & Morgan C. (2021). A randomised, double‐blind study investigating the relationship between early childhood trauma and the rewarding effects of morphine. Addiction Biology, 26(6):e13047.
2. Carlyle, M., Kvande, M., Leknes, S., Meier, I., Buen, K., Jensen, E. N., Ernst, G. & Eikemo, M. (2022). Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/7ymts
| Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery | Molly Carlyle*, Malin Kvande*, Siri Leknes, Isabell Meier, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Marie Eikemo. *denotes equal contribution. | <p>PCI-RR Snapshot only</p> | Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2022-03-15 10:07:29 | View | ||
Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgeryMolly Carlyle1*, Malin Kvande*, Isabell M. Meier, Martin Trøstheim, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Siri Leknes, Marie Eikemo (*denotes equal contribution) https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XR2VBIs childhood adversity associated with a heightened response to opioids?Recommended by Chris ChambersA convergence of evidence suggests that early life adversity may cause dysfunction in opioid-sensitive reward systems. Childhood adversity is associated with opioid use, potentially by altering reward and motivation networks, and experimental models in animals have found that early life adversity increases and consolidates opioid seeking behaviours. Further, in a recent controlled experiment, Carlyle et al. (2021) found that opioid administration produced stronger positive responses, and weaker negative responses, in adults with a history of childhood abuse and neglect.
In the current study, Carlyle et al. (2023) tested the generalisability of these previous findings in a pre-operative clinical setting. Using partially observed data from an existing cohort study (N=155), the authors asked whether patients with greater experience of childhood trauma in turn exhibit a larger mood boost and express greater subjective pleasure following opioid administration.
In contrast to previous findings, the results did not support the hypotheses that more experiences of childhood adversity would heighten ratings of drug liking and feeling good following opioid administration. Regression analyses instead revealed a statistically significant negative association between childhood adversity and post-opioid liking and no significant relationship with feeling good. The authors suggest that the discrepancy between the current and previous results may be due to stress related to the pre-surgical setting, the brief duration of drug exposure, and the relatively limited levels of high childhood adversity in the study sample. Nevertheless, these findings cast some doubt on the theory that adversity elevates risk of opioid addiction by altering sensitivity to subjectively pleasurable effects.
Following one round of in-depth review, 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/7ymts Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that was used to answer the research question had been accessed and partially observed by the authors prior to IPA, but the authors certify that they had not yet observed the key variables within the data that were used to answer the research question AND they took additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour. List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Carlyle M., Broomby R., Simpson G., Hannon R., Fawaz L., Mollaahmetoglu O.M., Drain, J., Mostazir, M., & Morgan C. (2021). A randomised, double‐blind study investigating the relationship between early childhood trauma and the rewarding effects of morphine. Addiction Biology, 26(6):e13047. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.13047
2. Carlyle, M., Kvande, M., Meier, I. M., Trøstheim, M., Buen, K., Jensen, E. N., Ernst, G. & Leknes, S. & Eikemo, M. (2023). Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery, acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/9kt3a?view_only=4238d2ee3d654c4f908a94efea82a027
| Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery | Molly Carlyle1*, Malin Kvande*, Isabell M. Meier, Martin Trøstheim, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Siri Leknes, Marie Eikemo (*denotes equal contribution) | <p><strong>Introduction</strong>: Opioid analgesic treatment during surgery entails risk of persistent use. Experiences of childhood adversity have been shown to increase opioid reward in preclinical models, a finding recently extended to healthy ... | Medical Sciences, Social sciences | Chris Chambers | 2023-02-02 08:29:18 | View |
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