scholarly journals Experimental Design and the Reliability of Priming Effects: Reconsidering the "Train Wreck"

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M Rivers ◽  
Jeff Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Within Subjects

Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of priming phenomena. Studies at the discussion’s center, labeled “social priming,” have been interpreted as a specific indictment of priming that is social in nature. However, “social priming” differs from other priming effects in multiple ways. The present research examines one important difference: whether effects have been demonstrated with within- or between-subjects experimental designs. To examine the significance of this feature, we assess the reliability of four well-known priming effects from the cognitive and social psychological literatures using both between- and within-subjects designs and analyses. All four priming effects are reliable when tested using a within-subjects approach. In contrast, only one priming effect reaches that statistical threshold when using a between-subjects approach. This demonstration serves as a salient illustration of the underappreciated importance of experimental design for statistical power, generally, and for the reliability of priming effects, specifically.

scholarly journals Neurodesign: Optimal Experimental Designs for Task fMRI

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joke Durnez ◽  
Ross Blair ◽  
Russell A. Poldrack
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Estimation Efficiency ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Higher Power ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
User Friendly

1AbstractA recent stream of alarmist publications has questioned the validity of published neuroimaging findings. As a consequence, fMRI teams worldwide have been encouraged to increase their sample sizes to reach higher power and thus increase the positive predictive value of their findings. However, an often-overlooked factor influencing power is the experimental design: by choosing the appropriate experimental design, the statistical power of a study can be increased within subjects. By optimizing the order and timing of the stimuli, power can be gained at no extra cost. To facilitate design optimization, we created a python package and web-based tool called Neurodesign to maximize the detection power or estimation efficiency within subjects, while controlling for psychological factors such as the predictability of the design. We implemented both a simulation-based optimisation, as well as an optimisation using the genetic algorithm, introduced by Wager and Nichols (2003) and further improved by Kao et al. (2009), to optimize the experimental design. The toolbox Neurodesign allows more complex experimental setups than existing toolboxes, while the GUI provides a more user-friendly experience. The toolbox is accessible online at www.neuropowertools.org.

scholarly journals Power to the People: Power, Negative Results and Sample Size

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna N Gaskill ◽  
Joseph P Garner
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Ethical Approval

The practical application of statistical power is becoming an increasingly important part of experimental design, data analysis, and reporting. Power is essential to estimating sample size as part of planning studies and obtaining ethical approval for them. Furthermore, power is essential for publishing and interpreting negative results. In this manuscript, we review what power is, how it can be calculated, and reporting recommendations if a null result is found. Power can be thought of as reflecting the signal to noise ratio of an experiment. The conventional wisdom that statistical power is driven by sample size (which increases the signal in the data), while true, is a misleading oversimplification. Relatively little discussion covers the use of experimental designs which control and reduce noise. Even small improvements in experimental design can achieve high power at much lower sample sizes than (for instance) a simple t test. Failure to report experimental design or the proposed statistical test on animal care and use protocols creates a dilemma for IACUCs, because it is unknown whether sample size has been correctly calculated. Traditional power calculations, which are primarily provided for animal number justifications, are only available for simple, yet low powered, experimental designs, such as paired t tests. Thus, in most controlled experimental studies, the only analyses for which power can be calculated are those that inheriently have low statistical power; these analyses should not be used because they require more animals than necessary. We provide suggestions for more powerful experimental designs (such as randomized block and factorial designs) that increase power, and we describe methods to easily calculate sample size for these designs that are suitable for IACUC number justifications. Finally we also provide recommendations for reporting negative results, so that readers and reviewers can determine whether an experiment had sufficient power. The use of more sophisticated designs in animal experiments will inevitably improve power, reproducibility, and reduce animal use.

scholarly journals There's nothing social about social priming: Derailing the "Train Wreck"

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Sherman ◽  
Andrew M Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Relative Reliability ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Specific Effects

Failures to replicate high-profile priming effects have raised questions about the reliability of so-called “social priming” phenomena. However, not only are many of the relevant studies not particularly social in nature, but other robust priming effects that are clearly social in nature do not count as social priming. Most importantly, the focus on the supposedly social aspect of the work has obscured factors that help to account for the relative reliability of priming effects. Here, we examine the construct of social priming, describe some simple demonstrations on the role of experimental design in priming reproducibility, and discuss future avenues for building a better understanding of priming. We conclude that the term “social priming” should be laid to rest, and that it is time to move past arguments about the reliability of specific effects and shift our energy to building theories that help us better understand the mechanisms underlying priming effects.

Masked Translation Priming Effects With Highly Proficient Simultaneous Bilinguals

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia ◽  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
The Other ◽  
Memory Organization ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Bilingual Memory ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Masked Translation Priming

One essential issue for models of bilingual memory organization is to what degree the representation from one of the languages is shared with the other language. In this study, we examine whether there is a symmetrical translation priming effect with highly proficient, simultaneous bilinguals. We conducted a masked priming lexical decision experiment with cognate and noncognate translation equivalents. Results showed a significant masked translation priming effect for both cognates and noncognates, with a greater priming effect for cognates. Furthermore, the magnitude of the translation priming was similar in the two directions. Thus, highly fluent bilinguals do develop symmetrical between-language links, as predicted by the Revised Hierarchical model and the BIA+ model. We examine the implications of these results for models of bilingual memory.

The Limits of Ego Depletion

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 292-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Wenzel ◽  
Marina Lind ◽  
Zarah Rowland ◽  
Daniela Zahn ◽  
Thomas Kubiak
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Interindividual Variability ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Crossover Design ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Within Subjects

Abstract. Evidence on the existence of the ego depletion phenomena as well as the size of the effects and potential moderators and mediators are ambiguous. Building on a crossover design that enables superior statistical power within a single study, we investigated the robustness of the ego depletion effect between and within subjects and moderating and mediating influences of the ego depletion manipulation checks. Our results, based on a sample of 187 participants, demonstrated that (a) the between- and within-subject ego depletion effects only had negligible effect sizes and that there was (b) large interindividual variability that (c) could not be explained by differences in ego depletion manipulation checks. We discuss the implications of these results and outline a future research agenda.

Experimental Design as a Retrieval Method for Assessing the Phenomenological Characteristics of Episodic Memories, Episodic Future Thoughts, and Episodic Counterfactual Thoughts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared Branch
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Retrieval Method ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Demand Effects ◽  
Episodic Memories ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

Studies assessing the phenomenological characteristics of episodic memories, episodic future thoughts, and episodic counterfactual thoughts normally utilize a within-subjects design. As such, there are concerns that the observed similarities in phenomenological characteristics are the result of demand effects or other related matters, rather than theoretical considerations. In this study, a within-subjects experimental design was directly compared with a between-subjects experimental design. In both conditions, participants responded to existing questionnaires used to assess phenomenological characteristics of episodic memories, episodic future thoughts, and episodic counterfactual thoughts. The within-subjects design resulted more often in significant findings and larger effect sizes compared to the between-subjects design. The implications for experimental design in future studies is discussed.

Motivating Exercise Through Social Media: Is a Picture Always Worth a Thousand Words?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn Johnston ◽  
William E. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Exercise Motivation ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Within Subjects

In the present study, we examined how the influence of exercise-related social media content on exercise motivation might differ across content type (with images vs. without images) and account type (individual vs. corporate). Using a 2 × 2 within-subjects experimental design, 229 participants viewed a series of 40 actual social media posts across the four conditions (individual posts with images, corporate posts with images, individual posts without images, and corporate posts without images) in a randomized order. Participants rated the extent to which they felt each social media post motivated them to exercise, would motivate others to exercise, and was posted for extrinsic reasons. Participants also completed other measures of individual differences including their own exercise motivation. Posts with images from individuals were more motivating than posts with images from corporations; however, corporate posts without images were more motivating than posts without images from individuals. Participants expected others to be similarly motivated by the stimuli, and perceived corporate posts as having been posted for more extrinsic reasons than individuals’ posts. These findings enhance our understanding of how social media may be used to promote positive health behaviors.

scholarly journals Speculations on Quasi-Experimental Design in HIV/AIDS Prevention Research

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Donald T. Campbell ◽  
Beatrice J. Krauss
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Prevention Research ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Aids Research ◽  
Speculative Discussion ◽  
Hiv Aids

This paper provides a speculative discussion on what quasi-experimental designs might be useful in various aspects of HIV/AIDS research. The first author’s expertise is in research design, not HIV, while the second author has been active in HIV prevention research. It is hoped that it may help the HIV/AIDS research community in discovering and inventing an expanded range of possibilities for valid causal inference. DOI:10.2458/azu_jmmss_v3i1_campbell

Inadequate Resources, Experimental Design, and Review of the Informative Feedback Literature

1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-122
Author(s):  
Edward A. Bilodeau
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Informative Feedback

A tiny experiment was reported by Dyal (1964) with results apparently contradicting the bulk of an extensive literature he failed to cite. The literature contains far better experimental designs, resources, and discussion of the issues.

scholarly journals Altruism and Egoism/Warm Glow in Economics and Psychology: Building a Bridge Between Different Experimental Approaches

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Helping Behavior ◽  
Experimental Designs ◽  
Warm Glow ◽  
Systematic Description ◽  
Experimental Approaches

The same dual–motive theory that combines altruism and egoism/warm glow is used in economics to study charitable giving and in psychology to study helping behavior. However, the two disciplines have taken different approaches to experimental testing. This paper builds a bridge between the different experimental approaches. For economists, the importance of this bridge is that it leads to a systematic description of six specific types of egoism/warm glow, and further suggests experimental designs that could be used to investigate warm glow motives in charitable giving. For psychologists, the bridge is important because the experimental design in economics suggests a way to test, directly rather than indirectly, the empathy–altruism hypothesis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document