Publication bias and low power in field studies on goal priming

Research on goal priming asks whether the subtle activation of an achievement goal can improve task performance. Studies in this domain employ a range of priming methods, such as surreptitiously displaying a photograph of an athlete winning a race, and a range of dependent variables including measures of creativity and workplace performance. Chen, Latham, Piccolo and Itzchakov (Chen et al. 2021 J. Appl. Psychol. 70 , 216–253) recently undertook a meta-analysis of this research and reported positive overall effects in both laboratory and field studies, with field studies yielding a moderate-to-large effect that was significantly larger than that obtained in laboratory experiments. We highlight a number of issues with Chen et al .'s selection of field studies and then report a new meta-analysis ( k = 13, N = 683) that corrects these. The new meta-analysis reveals suggestive evidence of publication bias and low power in goal priming field studies. We conclude that the available evidence falls short of demonstrating goal priming effects in the workplace, and offer proposals for how future research can provide stronger tests.

EXPRESS: Sustainable by Design: Choice Architecture and the Carbon Footprint of Grocery Shopping

The increase in global temperatures requires substantial reductions in the greenhouse emissions from consumer choices. We use an experimental incentive-compatible online supermarket to analyse the effect of a carbon-based choice architecture, which presents commodities to customers in high, medium and low carbon footprint groups, in reducing the carbon footprints of grocery baskets. We relate this choice architecture to two other policy interventions: a bonus-malus carbon tax on all grocery products; and moral goal priming, using an online banner noting the moral importance of reducing one’s carbon footprint. Participants shopped from their home in an online store containing 612 existing food products and 39 existing non-food products for which we had data on carbon footprint, over three successive weeks, with the interventions occurring in the second and third weeks. Choice architecture reduced carbon footprint significantly in the third week by reducing the proportion of choices made in the high-carbon aisle. The carbon tax reduced carbon footprint in both weeks, primarily by reducing overall spend. The goal priming banner led to a small reduction in carbon footprint in the second week only. Thus, the design of the marketplace plays an important role in achieving the policy objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Credibility of Goal Priming Research in Work and Organizational Psychology

Four criteria attest to the credibility of subconscious goal effects on organizational related behavior. First, the findings support hypotheses derived from goal setting theory. Second, the empirical experiments, conducted in both laboratory and field settings, have both internal and external/ecological validity. The dependent variables include brainstorming, negotiations, task/job performance, and satisfaction with customer service. Third, the results of these experiments have been shown to be robust with regard to exact and conceptual replications. Fourth, a meta-analysis has shown the practical as well as the theoretical significance of these findings. A goal primed in the subconscious and a consciously set goal have additive effects on job performance and negotiations.

The Effects of Subliminal Goal Priming on Emotional Response Inhibition in Cases of Major Depression

Previous studies have provided evidence that automatic emotion regulation (AER), which is primed by control goals, can change emotion trajectory unconsciously. However, the cognitive mechanism and associated changes in depression remain unclear. The current study aimed to examine whether subliminal goal priming could change the emotional response inhibition among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and their healthy controls. A group of patients with depression and a healthy control group were both primed subliminally by playing control goal related or neutral words for 20 ms each; afterward, they judged the gender of happy or angry faces in an emotional Go/No-Go task. A group of depressed patients and a healthy control group both were both primed subliminally with control goal-related words (20 ms) or neutral words (20 ms), and they judged the gender of happy or angry faces in an emotional Go/No-Go task. Among patients with depression, there were fewer false alarms of the No-Go response to emotional stimulus after priming with control goal rather than neutral words. Meanwhile, patients with MDD in the subliminal regulation goal priming condition reacted faster to happy rather than angry faces; no significant difference was found in the subliminal neutral priming condition. These findings suggest the malleability of inhibitory control in depression using subliminal priming goals.

Many Labs 5: Registered Replication of Albarracín et al. (2008), Experiment 7

Albarracín et al. (2008, Study 7) tested whether priming action or inaction goals (vs. no goal) and then satisfying those goals (vs. not satisfying them) would be associated with subsequent cognitive responding. They hypothesized and found that priming action or inaction goals that were not satisfied resulted in greater or lesser responding, respectively, compared with not priming goals (N= 98). Sonnleitner and Voracek (2015) attempted to directly replicate Albarracín et al.’s (2008) study with German participants (N= 105). They did not find evidence for the 3x2 interaction or the expected main effect of task type. The current study attempted to directly replicate Albarracín et al. (2008), Study 7, with a larger sample of participants (N=1,690) from seven colleges and universities in the United States. We also extended the study design by using a scrambled-sentence task to prime goals instead of the original task of completing word fragments, allowing us to test whether study protocol moderated any effects of interest. We did not detect moderation by protocol in the full 3x2x2 design (pseudo-r2=0.05%). Results for both protocols were largely consistent with Sonnleitner and Voracek’s findings (pseudo-r2s = 0.14% and 0.50%). We consider these results in light of recent findings concerning priming methods and discuss the robustness of action-/inaction-goal priming to the implementation of different protocols in this particular context.

Many Labs 5: Registered Replication of Albarracín et al. (2008), Experiment 7

Albarracín et al. (2008, Experiment 7) tested whether priming action or inaction goals (vs. no goal) and then satisfying those goals (vs. not satisfying them) would be associated with subsequent cognitive responding. They hypothesized and found that priming action or inaction goals that were not satisfied resulted in greater or lesser responding, respectively, compared with not priming goals ( N = 98). Sonnleitner and Voracek (2015) attempted to directly replicate Albarracín et al.’s (2008) study with German participants ( N = 105). They did not find evidence for the 3 × 2 interaction or the expected main effect of task type. The current study attempted to directly replicate Albarracín et al. (2008), Experiment 7, with a larger sample of participants ( N = 1,690) from seven colleges and universities in the United States. We also extended the study design by using a scrambled-sentence task to prime goals instead of the original task of completing word fragments, allowing us to test whether study protocol moderated any effects of interest. We did not detect moderation by protocol in the full 3 × 2 × 2 design (pseudo- r2 = 0.05%). Results for both protocols were largely consistent with Sonnleitner and Voracek’s findings (pseudo- r2s = 0.14% and 0.50%). We consider these results in light of recent findings concerning priming methods and discuss the robustness of action-/inaction-goal priming to the implementation of different protocols in this particular context.