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Chin J, Zeiler K, Dilevski N, Holcombe A, Gatfield-Jeffries R, Bishop R, Vazire S, Schiavone S. The transparency of quantitative empirical legal research published in highly ranked law journals (2018-2020): an observational study. F1000Res 2024; 12:144. [PMID: 37600907 PMCID: PMC10435919 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.127563.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Scientists are increasingly concerned with making their work easy to verify and build upon. Associated practices include sharing data, materials, and analytic scripts, and preregistering protocols. This shift towards increased transparency and rigor has been referred to as a "credibility revolution." The credibility of empirical legal research has been questioned in the past due to its distinctive peer review system and because the legal background of its researchers means that many often are not trained in study design or statistics. Still, there has been no systematic study of transparency and credibility-related characteristics of published empirical legal research. Methods To fill this gap and provide an estimate of current practices that can be tracked as the field evolves, we assessed 300 empirical articles from highly ranked law journals including both faculty-edited journals and student-edited journals. Results We found high levels of article accessibility (86%, 95% CI = [82%, 90%]), especially among student-edited journals (100%). Few articles stated that a study's data are available (19%, 95% CI = [15%, 23%]). Statements of preregistration (3%, 95% CI = [1%, 5%]) and availability of analytic scripts (6%, 95% CI = [4%, 9%]) were very uncommon. (i.e., they collected new data using the study's reported methods, but found results inconsistent or not as strong as the original). Conclusion We suggest that empirical legal researchers and the journals that publish their work cultivate norms and practices to encourage research credibility. Our estimates may be revisited to track the field's progress in the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Chin
- College of Law, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | | | - Natali Dilevski
- Centre for Investigative Interviewing, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - Alex Holcombe
- Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Ruby Bishop
- School of Law, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Simine Vazire
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
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Gully BJ, Padovano HT, Clark SE, Muro GJ, Monnig MA. Exposure to the Death of Others during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Growing Mistrust in Medical Institutions as a Result of Personal Loss. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:999. [PMID: 38131855 PMCID: PMC10741189 DOI: 10.3390/bs13120999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The prominence of death during the COVID-19 pandemic was heightened by the potential of personally knowing someone who lost their life to the virus. The terror management theory (TMT) suggests that the salient presence of death has a pronounced effect on behavior and may result in the ossification of beliefs and actions aligned with one's worldview (i.e., the mortality salience hypothesis). In this study, we evaluated how death exposure early in the COVID-19 pandemic could enact the process of firming up held beliefs and attitudes related to health and safety. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to a personal loss during the pandemic would strengthen participants' baseline attitudes and behaviors regarding COVID-19 safety guidelines. METHOD Data were analyzed from a prospective, regional survey administered at two time points during the pandemic, June-July 2020 and May 2021, in five United States northeastern states. Baseline and follow-up surveys were administered approximately 12 months apart, with adherence to public guidance and death exposure measured at both timepoints and other safety measures at follow-up only. FINDINGS Our results indicated that there were significant main effects of death exposure on guideline adherence and support for COVID-related public policy. Contrary to the mortality salience hypothesis, death exposures after baseline were related to higher medical mistrust at follow-up for those high in adherence at baseline, rather than those with low adherence. CONCLUSION Our results offer some conflicting evidence to the mortality salience hypothesis. Rather than entrench people in their worldviews, death in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to sway people away from their initial stances. This finding has important implications for TMT literature and for the COVID-19 pandemic response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J. Gully
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA; (H.T.P.); (S.E.C.); (G.J.M.); (M.A.M.)
- Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Hayley Treloar Padovano
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA; (H.T.P.); (S.E.C.); (G.J.M.); (M.A.M.)
- Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Samantha E. Clark
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA; (H.T.P.); (S.E.C.); (G.J.M.); (M.A.M.)
- Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Gabriel J. Muro
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA; (H.T.P.); (S.E.C.); (G.J.M.); (M.A.M.)
- Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Mollie A. Monnig
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA; (H.T.P.); (S.E.C.); (G.J.M.); (M.A.M.)
- Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
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Boyce V, Mathur M, Frank MC. Eleven years of student replication projects provide evidence on the correlates of replicability in psychology. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:231240. [PMID: 38026006 PMCID: PMC10645069 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Cumulative scientific progress requires empirical results that are robust enough to support theory construction and extension. Yet in psychology, some prominent findings have failed to replicate, and large-scale studies suggest replicability issues are widespread. The identification of predictors of replication success is limited by the difficulty of conducting large samples of independent replication experiments, however: most investigations reanalyse the same set of 170 replications . We introduce a new dataset of 176 replications from students in a graduate-level methods course. Replication results were judged to be successful in 49% of replications; of the 136 where effect sizes could be numerically compared, 46% had point estimates within the prediction interval of the original outcome (versus the expected 95%). Larger original effect sizes and within-participants designs were especially related to replication success. Our results indicate that, consistent with prior reports, the robustness of the psychology literature is low enough to limit cumulative progress by student investigators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Boyce
- Department of Psychology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Maya Mathur
- Quantitative Sciences Unit, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael C. Frank
- Department of Psychology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Brandt MJ, Vallabha S. Intraindividual Changes in Political Identity Strength (But Not Direction) Are Associated With Political Animosity in the United States and the Netherlands. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231203471. [PMID: 37864472 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231203471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
We test if within-person changes in political identities are associated with within-person changes in political animosity in two longitudinal studies (United States N = 552, Waves = 26; Netherlands N = 1,670, Waves = 12). Typical studies examine cross-sectional associations without assessing within-person change. Our work provides a stronger test of the relationship. We find that within-person changes in the strength of people's ideological and partisan identities are associated with increased political animosity. We found no such associations with within-person changes in identity direction. These patterns were robust to covariates and emerged in both studies. In addition to these average effects, we found substantial heterogeneity across participants in the associations among identity strength, identity direction, and political animosity. We did not find robust and replicable moderators for this heterogeneity. These findings suggest that identity strength (but not identity direction) is a key, if heterogenous, factor in changes in political animosity.
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Gyimes IL, Valentini E. Reminders of Mortality: Investigating the Effects of Different Mortality Saliences on Somatosensory Neural Activity. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1077. [PMID: 37509009 PMCID: PMC10377243 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The Terror Management Theory (TMT) offered a great deal of generative hypotheses that have been tested in a plethora of studies. However, there is a still substantive lack of clarity about the interpretation of TMT-driven effects and their underlying neurological mechanisms. Here, we aimed to expand upon previous research by introducing two novel methodological manipulations aimed to enhance the effects of mortality salience (MS). We presented participants with the idea of the participants' romantic partner's death as well as increased the perceived threat of somatosensory stimuli. Linear mixed modelling disclosed the greater effects of MS directed at one's romantic partner on pain perception (as opposed to the participant's own mortality). The theta event-related oscillatory activity measured at the vertex of the scalp was significantly lower compared to the control condition. We suggest that MS aimed at one's romantic partner can result in increased effects on perceptual experience; however, the underlying neural activities are not reflected by a classical measure of cortical arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Istvan Laszlo Gyimes
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Elia Valentini
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
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Otsubo K, Yamaguchi H. No significant effect of mortality salience on unconscious ethnic bias among the Japanese. BMC Res Notes 2023; 16:91. [PMID: 37237415 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06360-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Terror management theory posits that when mortality is salient, individuals attempt to defend their cultural worldviews. Although numerous studies have confirmed this hypothesis, some recent studies have suggested that East Asians do not engage in worldview defense. We conducted a pre-registered experiment with 895 Japanese adults to investigate whether they exhibited worldview defense at an unconscious level. Participants performed the Implicit Association Test using Japanese and Korean surnames as stimuli after being primed with thoughts about mortality. RESULTS The results revealed that mortality salience had no influence on implicit ethnic bias. These findings support the notion that East Asians do not engage in worldview defense, in accord with recent criticism of the validity of terror management theory. We discuss the limitations and implications of our findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Otsubo
- Graduate School of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
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Orhan MA, Collisson B, Howell JL, Kowal M, Pollet TV. Comparing Foodie Calls in Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Registered Replication Report. Psychol Rep 2023:332941231164079. [PMID: 36927198 DOI: 10.1177/00332941231164079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Collisson et al. (2020) found Dark Triad traits and gender role beliefs predicted "foodie calls," a phenomenon where people go on a date with others, to whom they are not attracted, for a free meal. Because gender roles and dating norms differ across cultures, we conducted a registered replication across different cultures by surveying 1838 heterosexual women from Poland, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Relying on the structural equation modeling, as conducted in the original study, our findings revealed gender role beliefs best predicted foodie calls and their perceived acceptability, whereas the Dark Triad's general factor was nonsignificant. Analyses at the country level yielded mixed results. The original findings were replicated in the UK and Poland, but not in the US, where only narcissism predicted foodie calls. In the US, gender role beliefs predicted foodie call acceptability, but the Dark Triad general factor did not. Potential reasons for why traditional gender roles, but not the Dark Triad, predicted foodie calls in the US are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet A Orhan
- 88546EM Normandie Business School, Clichy, France.,5995Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
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Menzies RE, Sharpe L, Richmond B, Cunningham ML. "Life's too short to be small": An experimental exploration of the relationship between death anxiety and muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Body Image 2023; 44:43-52. [PMID: 36459928 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Growing research demonstrates that death anxiety is strongly associated with numerous mental health conditions. It is possible that death anxiety may similarly contribute to behaviours associated with muscle dysmorphia (MD). The current pre-registered study examined this possibility in 322 young men with an interest in health and fitness. The mortality salience paradigm was used to experimentally examine whether reminders of death increased behaviours relevant to MD. Measures of MD symptoms and death anxiety were also completed by participants. Contrary to expectations, reminders of death did not significantly increase willingness to trial workout supplements, or dissatisfaction with current muscularity. Participants reminded of death reported lower intention to exercise in the near future, compared to the control condition. Moreover, death reminders did not lead to significantly larger portion sizes being chosen. However, in post-hoc analyses, men with high, but not low, MD symptoms did choose larger portions after being primed with death. Lastly, positive correlations were found between self-report measures of MD symptoms and two measures of death anxiety. Cumulatively, these results suggest that while fears of death may be associated with self-reported MD symptoms, they may not drive excessive exercise, nor body dissatisfaction in men.
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Duberstein PR, Hoerger M, Norton SA, Mohile S, Dahlberg B, Hyatt EG, Epstein RM, Wittink MN. The TRIBE model: How socioemotional processes fuel end-of-life treatment in the United States. Soc Sci Med 2023; 317:115546. [PMID: 36509614 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Prior interventions have repeatedly failed to decrease the prescription and receipt of treatments and procedures that confer more harm than benefit at the End-of-Life (EoL); new approaches to intervention are needed. Ideally, future interventions would be informed by a social-ecological conceptual model that explains EoL healthcare utilization patterns, but current models ignore two facts: (1) healthcare is an inherently social activity, involving clinical teams and patients' social networks, and (2) emotions influence social activity. To address these omissions, we scaffolded Terror Management Theory and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to create the Transtheoretical Model of Irrational Biomedical Exuberance (TRIBE). Based on Terror Management Theory, TRIBE suggests that the prospect of patient death motivates healthcare teams to conform to a biomedical norm of care, even when clinicians believe that biomedical interventions will likely be unhelpful. Based on Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, TRIBE suggests that the prospect of dwindling time motivates families to prioritize emotional goals, and leads patients to consent to disease-directed treatments they know will likely be unhelpful, as moral emotions motivate deference to the perceived emotional needs of their loved ones. TRIBE is unique among models of healthcare utilization in its acknowledgement that moral emotions and processes (e.g., shame, compassion, regret-avoidance) influence healthcare delivery, patients' interactions with family members, and patients' outcomes. TRIBE is especially relevant to potentially harmful EoL care in the United States, and it also offers insights into the epidemics of overtreatment in healthcare settings worldwide. By outlining the role of socioemotional processes in the care of persons with serious conditions, TRIBE underscores the critical need for psychological innovation in interventions, health policy and research on healthcare utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul R Duberstein
- Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, Rutgers University School of Public Heath, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, United States.
| | - Michael Hoerger
- Department of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Medicine, Tulane University, 131 S. Robertson Building, 131 S Robertson St, New Orleans, LA, 70112, United States; Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University, 1415 Tulane Ave, New Orleans, LA, 70112, United States.
| | - Sally A Norton
- School of Nursing, University of Rochester, 255 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States; Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States.
| | - Supriya Mohile
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States; James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 90 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States.
| | - Britt Dahlberg
- Center for Humanism, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 401 South Broadway, Camden, NJ, 08103, United States.
| | - Erica Goldblatt Hyatt
- Rutgers School of Social Work, 536 George St, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States.
| | - Ronald M Epstein
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States; James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 90 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States; Department of Family Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States.
| | - Marsha N Wittink
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States.
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Schindler S, Hilgard J, Fritsche I, Burke B, Pfattheicher S. Do Salient Social Norms Moderate Mortality Salience Effects? A (Challenging) Meta-Analysis of Terror Management Studies. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022; 27:195-225. [PMID: 35950528 PMCID: PMC10115940 DOI: 10.1177/10888683221107267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Terror management theory postulates that mortality salience (MS) increases the motivation to defend one's cultural worldviews. How that motivation is expressed may depend on the social norm that is momentarily salient. Meta-analyses were conducted on studies that manipulated MS and social norm salience. Results based on 64 effect sizes for the hypothesized interaction between MS and norm salience revealed a small-to-medium effect of g = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [0.26, 0.41]. Bias-adjustment techniques suggested the presence of publication bias and/or the exploitation of researcher degrees of freedom and arrived at smaller effect size estimates for the hypothesized interaction, in several cases reducing the effect to nonsignificance (range gcorrected = -0.36 to 0.15). To increase confidence in the idea that MS and norm salience interact to influence behavior, preregistered, high-powered experiments using validated norm salience manipulations are necessary. Concomitantly, more specific theorizing is needed to identify reliable boundary conditions of the effect.
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