
DIENES Zoltan
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Social sciences
- administrator, recommender, manager, developer
Recommendations: 9
Review: 1
Recommendations: 9
No reliable effect of task-irrelevant cross-modal statistical regularities on distractor suppression
Failure to learn cross-modally to suppress distractors
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Miguel Vadillo and 1 anonymous reviewerIn two experiments Jagini and Sunny found that people did not learn to use a task-irrelevant stimulus from a different modality (cross modal statistical learning) to suppress a distractor (selecting out). They also found that people had little awareness of the relation between the predictor task-irrelevant stimulus and the location of the distractor. The results may reflect limits on what can be achieved unconsciously.
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question existed prior to Stage 1 in-principle acceptance.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
- Advances in Cognitive Psychology
- Cortex
- Experimental Psychology
- In&Vertebrates
- Journal of Cognition
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research and Practice
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open

How long does it take to form a habit?: A Multi-Centre Replication
How much practice is needed before daily actions are performed in a way that feels habitual?
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Benjamin Gardner, Wendy Wood and Adam TakacsURL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/bj9r2
- Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science
- F1000Research
- Meta-Psychology
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open
Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patients
Informing doctors of the evidence on plant-based diets
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Alaa Aldoh, Joshua Tasoff and Bence PalfiEspinosa et al. (2022) conducted a randomised control trial on French general practitioners with 200 doctors given a leaflet and access to an online platform, and 200 controls. The information in the materials concerned the health benefits of plant-based diets, and what nutrients (e.g. B12) may be deficient and what may not be. Attitudes towards and knowledge about plant-based diets was assessed. On a scale of 0-100% expressing whether they would advise for or against (0 = not at all, 100 = absolutely), the intervention shifted attitudes making them more positive about plant based diets by 17 percentage points. However, knowledge of specifically what is worth testing for (e.g. is zinc deficiency more probable or not?) did not change much. The research shows just what can be achieved by a small leaflet (shifting attitudes) and what may require more extensive training (knowledge of relevant medical practice).
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/fc9gp
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that was used to answer the research question existed prior to Stage 1 in-principle acceptance.
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
References
1. Crowley, J., Ball, L. & Hiddink, G. J. (2019.) Nutrition in medical education: a systematic review. Lancet Planetary Health. 3, e379–e389. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30171-8

Removing barriers to plant-based diets: assisting doctors with vegan patients
Stage 1 acceptance (IPA)
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Joshua Tasoff, Bence Palfi and Alaa AldohThank you for your careful response to the points of myself and the reviewers. I am now happy to award in principle acceptance (IPA). As requested, your submission is being awarded a private Stage 1 acceptance, which will not appear yet on the PCI RR website. Your Stage 1 manuscript has also been registered under the requested 4-year private embargo on the OSF (link below).
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/fc9gp
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:

Causal evidence for the role of the sensory visual cortex in visual short-term memory maintenance
Can the visual cortex maintain information in the short term?
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Robert McIntosh, Evie Vergauwe and Vincent van de VenLevel 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
- F1000Research
- In&Vertebrates
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research and Practice
- Royal Society Open Science

Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews
What to say to help one's partners in crime
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Tom Ormerod and Lorraine HopeLevel of bias control achieved: Level 6. Data collection began during the final round of Stage 1 peer review. Since no further revisions were made after this review round, the risk of bias due to prior data observation remains zero, and the manuscript therefore qualifies for Level 6.
1. Neequaye, D. A., Granhag, P. A. & Luke, T. J. (2022). Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/n7ugr

Do task-irrelevant cross-modal statistical regularities induce distractor suppression in visual search?
Learning cross-modally to suppress distractors
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Miguel Vadillo and 1 anonymous reviewer- Advances in Cognitive Psychology
- Cortex
- Experimental Psychology
- In&Vertebrates
- Journal of Cognition
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research and Practice
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open

Arithmetic deficits in Parkinson's Disease? A registered report
Getting the numbers right in Parkinson's disease?
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Pia Rotshtein, Ann Dowker, Stephanie Rossit and 1 anonymous reviewerEveryday life, including for patients taking different types of medicine, involves dealing with numbers. Even though Parkinson's disease may ordinarily be thought of as primarily being a motor disorder, there is evidence that numerical abilities decline as Parkinson's disease progresses. Further, the brain areas involved in arithmetic operations overlap with the areas that degenerate in Parkinson's disease.
In this Stage 1 Registered Report, Loenneker et al. (2022) will test healthy controls, Parkinson disease patients with normal cognition, and Parkinson disease patients with mild cognitive impairment on general working memory tasks as well as arithmetic performance on the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). The study aims to test whether or not there is a deficit in each operation, and the relation of any deficits to general working memory capacity.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over four rounds of review (including two rounds of in-depth specialist review). Based on comprehensive 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/nb5fj
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
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open
References
Loenneker, H. D., Liepelt-Scarfone, I., Willmes, K., Nuerk, H.-C., & Artemenko, C. (2022). Arithmetic deficits in Parkinson’s Disease? A Registered Report. Stage 1 preregistration, in principle acceptance of version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/nb5fj

To help or hinder: Do the labels and models used to describe problematic substance use influence public stigma?
Understanding the role of health condition, aetiological labels, and attributional judgements in public stigma toward problematic substance use
Recommended by Zoltan Dienes based on reviews by Nicholas Sinclair-House and Roger Giner-SorollaPeople suffering from substance misuse problems are often stigmatised. Such public stigma may impair such people obtaining help and the quality of help that they receive. For this reason, previous research has investigated the factors that may reduce stigma. Evidence has been found, but not consistently, for the claim that labelling the condition as "chronically relapsing brain disease" vs a "problem" reduces stigma; as does "a health concern" vs " drug use". Another potentially relevant difference that may explain different previous results is describing how effective treatment can be.
In this Stage 1 Registered Report, Pennington et al. (2022) describe how they will investigate if any of these factors affect two different measures of stigma used in previous work, with a study well powered for testing whether the 99% CI lies outside or inside an equivalence region. While the CI being outside the region will straightforwardly justify concluding an effect of interest, a CI within the region will need to be interpreted with due regard to the fact that some effects within the region may be interesting.
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of review (including one round of in-depth specialist review). Based on comprehensive 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/4vscg
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:
- Addiction Research & Theory
- Advances in Cognitive Psychology
- F1000Research
- Journal of Cognition
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open
References
Pennington, C. R., Monk, R. L., Heim, D., Rose, A. K., Gough, T., Clarke, R., Knibb, G., & Jones, A. (2022). To help or hinder: Do the labels and models used to describe problematic substance use influence public stigma? Stage 1 preregistration, in principle acceptance of version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/4vscg
Review: 1

Does childhood adversity alter opioid drug reward? A conceptual replication in outpatients before surgery
Is childhood adversity associated with a heightened response to opioids?
Recommended by Chris Chambers based on reviews by Zoltan Dienes, Yuki Yamada and 1 anonymous reviewerURL 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.
- Cortex
- In&Vertebrates
- Infant and Child Development
- Peer Community Journal
- PeerJ
- Royal Society Open Science
- Swiss Psychology Open