Inequalities in income, wealth, and opportunities are rampant both between and within nations around the world. Making strides to rectify inequalities requires examining how people come to understand them as well as the psychological processes that translate those understandings into reparative actions. There is some evidence for a “comparative framing effect,” in which the group that is initially referenced impacts judgements by communicating salient information and the appropriate reference point. Research on this comparative framing effect suggests that focusing on disadvantage, relative to advantage, leads to a more negative assessment and intentions to engage in action to reduce the inequality. 

 

In two pilot studies (reported in the current proposal) focused on global inequalities (low-income vs high-income countries), Schnepf et al. (2023) did not find evidence for a main effect of framing on perceived legitimacy of the inequality or intentions to engage in action. They did, however, find some evidence for an interaction with the perceived size of the inequality. When the low-income country was the subject of the comparison, larger perceptions of the size of the inequality were associated with greater intentions to engage in action (both studies) and greater perceptions of the differences as illegitimate (Study 1 only). Moreover, they found some evidence in both studies that negative social emotions such as guilt and shame were the mechanism that explained why perceiving greater inequality in the low-income framing condition was associated with the outcomes. 

 

In the current study, Schnepf et al. (2023) build upon these two pilot studies to conduct a high-quality replication and a stronger test of their hypotheses. Most notably, the proposed Registered Report uses a much larger sample, providing adequate statistical power to detect relatively small interaction effects. Additionally, the proposed project manipulates the size of the inequality that is being evaluated, rather than relying on participants’ perceptions. Finally, the study includes “justice sensitivity,” or the degree to which individuals assess inequality as unfair as an additional hypothesized moderator, and “social dominance orientation” as an exploratory moderator. Along with the pilot studies, the proposed project will represent a strong test of several hypotheses relevant to many different areas of social and personality psychology. 

 

The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth peer review, both of which consisted of substantial comments from two scholars with relevant expertise. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and was therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).

 

URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/pgyvw
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:

 

 

 

1. Schnepf, J., Reese, G., Bruckmüller, S., Braun, M., Rotzinger, J., & Martiny, S. E. (2023). Justice in the eye of the beholder: How comparison framing affects the perception of global inequality through social emotions and justice sensitivity. In principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/pgyvw

COVID-19 has been associated with cognitive impairments, particularly in memory performance (Guo et al., 2022). Given that associative memory typically declines earlier than item memory in conditions such as mild cognitive impairment (Chen & Chang, 2016), it remains an open question whether COVID-19 differentially affects item and associative memory. Furthermore, it is unclear whether such effects are specific to verbal or non-verbal material. To investigate these questions, Weinerova et al. (2024) recruited participants via long-COVID Facebook groups and clinical settings. They reported a significant detrimental effect of COVID-19 status on long-term memory performance across tasks. However, they did not find evidence for their preregistered hypothesis of an interaction between COVID-19 status and either memory type (item vs. associative) or stimulus type (verbal vs. non-verbal).

 

In the Stage 1 report, the authors preregistered a Bayes Factor threshold of 6 as the criterion for supporting the alternative hypothesis. All planned analyses were preregistered, incorporating both frequentist methods (to replicate Guo et al., 2022) and Bayesian ANCOVA (to test the preregistered hypotheses). As data collection had been completed at the time of Stage 1 submission, we assigned a Level 3 bias control to the Stage 1 report.

 

In the Stage 2 report, the authors confirmed a general negative impact of COVID-19 on long-term memory accuracy. Using frequentist ANCOVA, they successfully replicated Guo et al. (2022)’s findings of reduced accuracy in verbal item and non-verbal associative memory among individuals with prior COVID-19 infection. However, they did not replicate the previously observed effect on reaction times. The Bayesian ANCOVA analyses did not reach the preregistered evidential threshold (BF > 6). Verbal associative memory, which was not part of the original replication attempt, also showed reduced accuracy in individuals with prior infection. In contrast, performance on non-verbal item memory tasks showed a ceiling effect, possibly due to methodological differences from Guo et al. (2022). Across all four memory tasks, the authors found robust evidence for decreased accuracy associated with COVID-19 status but no effect on reaction times.

 

Contrary to their hypotheses, models that included interactions between COVID-19 status and either memory type or stimulus type were less likely than the null model, suggesting a general, rather than specific, detrimental effect of COVID-19 on long-term memory.

 

Analyses of vaccination status yielded inconclusive results, likely due to limited sample size and uncertainty in participants' self-reports of vaccination timing relative to infection. The question of whether vaccination has protective effects on cognition remains unresolved and merits further investigation. The authors also reported tentative exploratory findings, such as a potential association between longer time since infection and slower reaction times in verbal item memory tasks. These observations require confirmation in future studies.

 

Overall, the study makes a valuable contribution by replicating prior findings and extending them to suggest a broad impairment of long-term memory associated with COVID-19.

 

The Stage 2 report was reviewed by the same three reviewers who had evaluated the Stage 1 submission. All reviewers agreed that the authors had addressed prior comments and had adhered to the preregistered methodology and analysis plan. As in the Stage 1 evaluation, we note the potential for selection bias introduced by recruiting participants via long-COVID Facebook groups. Individuals with post-infection cognitive complaints may have been more likely to volunteer, limiting generalizability to the broader SARS-CoV-2-infected population. This and other limitations are clearly acknowledged in the Discussion section of the Stage 2 manuscript. The recommender judged that the manuscript met all Stage 2 criteria for recommendation.

 

URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/tjs5u
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 3. At least some data/evidence that was used to the answer the research question had been accessed by the authors prior to in-principle acceptance (e.g. downloaded or otherwise received), but the authors certify that they had not yet observed ANY part of the data/evidence.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 

1. Chen, P.-C., & Chang, Y.-L. (2016, May). Associative memory and underlying brain correlates in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Neuropsychologia, 85, 216–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.032

 

2. Guo, P., Benito Ballesteros, A., Yeung, S. P., Liu, R., Saha, A., Curtis, L., ... Cheke, L. G. (2022b). COVCOG 2: Cognitive and memory deficits in long COVID: A second publication from the COVID and Cognition Study. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 804937. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.804937

 

3. Weinerova, J., Yeung, S., Guo, P., Yau, A., Horne, C., Ghinn, M., Curtis, L., Adlard, F., Bhagat, V., Zhang, S., Kaser, M., Bozic, M., Schluppeck, D., Reid, A., Tibon, R., & Cheke, L. (2025). Changes in memory function in adults following SARS-CoV-2 infection: Findings from the Covid and Cognition online study [Stage 2]. Acceptance of Version 1 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/q5vu2?view_only=228165eb161d490b945ca019143ba98c

Measuring people’s experiences, thoughts, and mental processes has always been a core challenge of psychological science (e.g. Nisbett & Wilson 1977). When such measurement further relates to rapidly changing and conceptually diverse human-technology interactions, the task becomes even more difficult due to protean, multidimensional constructs. A good understanding of a construct is a basic step in its measurement (Borsboom 2005).  
 
In the present registered report, Hickman Dunne et al. (2023) carry out a focus group study with adolescents (n=32) aged 11 to 15 in Northwest England to improve the understanding of constructs related to social media and mental health experiences. The work is carried out as part of a long-term measure development project. The authors apply reflexive thematic analysis to explore adolescents’ social media use experiences and related motivations in the light of mental health, in addition to which the adolescents’ own views of benefits and risks are mapped out.
 
A particular strength of the design is the engagement of three Young Researchers who will co-facilitate the focus groups and be involved in the analysis. The research plan also meets high reflexivity and transparency criteria, and as such, can significantly contribute to future scale development as well as our general understanding of adolescents’ social media experiences.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was reviewed over two rounds by five unique reviewers, one of which participated in both rounds. The reviewers’ expertise ranged from social media and technology use research to health psychology and qualitative methods. Based on careful revisions and detailed responses to the reviewers’ 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/w24ec
 
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.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:

 

• Collabra: Psychology
• F1000Research
• Peer Community Journal
• PeerJ
• Studia Psychologica
• Swiss Psychology Open
• WiderScreen 

 

References
 
1. Borsboom, D. (2005). Measuring the mind: Conceptual issues in contemporary psychometrics. Cambridge University Press.

 

3. Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological review, 84, 231–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.3.231

2. Hickman Dunne J., Black L., Banwell E., Nanda P., Anderton M, Butters L.C., Demkowicz O., Davidson B., Qualter P., Humphrey N., Jay C., and Panayiotou M. (2023). Identifying relevant dimensions to the measurement of adolescent social media experience via focus groups with young people: A registered report. In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/w24ec

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: 

 

• Collabra: Psychology
• F1000Research
• Peer Community Journal
• PeerJ
• Royal Society Open Science
• Swiss Psychology Open

 

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.

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:
 

• Advances in Cognitive Psychology
• Brain and Neuroscience Advances
• Cortex
• Imaging Neuroscience
• Journal of Cognition
• NeuroImage: Reports
• Peer Community Journal
• PeerJ
• Royal Society Open Science
• Studia Psychologica
   

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