Null and Void? Errors in Meta-analysis on Perceptual Disfluency and Recommendations to Improve Meta-analytical Reproducibility.

In the 2018 meta-analysis of Educational Psychology Review entitled "Null effects of perceptual disfluency on learning outcomes in a text-based educational context" by Xie, Zhou, and Liu, we identify some errors and inconsistencies in both the methodological approach and the reported results regarding coding and effect sizes. While from a technical point of view the meta-analysis aligns with current meta-analytical guidelines (e.g., PRISMA) and conforms to general meta-analytical requirements (e.g., considering publication bias), it exemplifies certain insufficient practices in the creation and review of meta-analysis. We criticize the lack of transparency and negligence of open-science practices in the generation and reporting of results, which complicate evaluation of the meta-analytical reproducibility, especially given the flexibility in subjective choices regarding the analytical approach and the flexibility in creating the database. Here we present a framework applicable to pre- and post-publication review on improving the Methods Reproducibility of meta-analysis. Based on considerations of the transparency and openness (TOP)-guidlines (Nosek et al. Science 348: 1422-1425, 2015), the Reproducibility Enhancement Principles (REP; Stodden et al. Science 354:1240-1241, 2016), and recommendations by Lakens et al. (BMC Psychology 4: Article 24, 2016), we outline Computational Reproducibility (Level 1), Computational Verification (Level 2), Analysis Reproducibility (Level 3), and Outcome Reproducibility (Level 4). Applying reproducibility checks to TRANSFER performance as the chosen outcome variable, we found Xie's and colleagues' results to be (rather) robust. Yet, regarding RECALL performance and the moderator analysis, the identified problems raise doubts about the credibility of the reported results.

Data from the Human Penguin Project, a cross-national dataset testing social thermoregulation principles.

In the Human Penguin Project (N = 1755), 15 research groups from 12 countries collected body temperature, demographic variables, social network indices, seven widely-used psychological scales and two newly developed questionnaires (the Social Thermoregulation and Risk Avoidance Questionnaire (STRAQ-1) and the Kama Muta Frequency Scale (KAMF)). They were collected to investigate the relationship between environmental factors (e.g., geographical, climate etc.) and human behaviors, which is a long-standing inquiry in the scientific community. More specifically, the present project was designed to test principles surrounding the idea of social thermoregulation, which posits that social networks help people to regulate their core body temperature. The results showed that all scales in the current project have sufficient to good psychometrical properties. Unlike previous crowdsourced projects, this dataset includes not only the cleaned raw data but also all the validation of questionnaires in 9 different languages, thus providing a valuable resource for psychological scientists who are interested in cross-national, environment-human interaction studies.

Does distance from the equator predict self-control? Lessons from the Human Penguin Project.

We comment on the proposition "that lower temperatures and especially greater seasonal variation in temperature call for individuals and societies to adopt … a greater degree of self-control" (Van Lange et al., sect. 3, para. 4) for which we cannot find empirical support in a large data set with data-driven analyses. After providing greater nuance in our theoretical review, we suggest that Van Lange et al. revisit their model with an eye toward the social determinants of self-control.

The Headscarf Effect Revisited: Further Evidence for a Culture-Based Internal Face Processing Advantage.

Encoding the internal features of unfamiliar faces poses a perceptual challenge that occasionally results in face recognition errors. Extensive experience with faces framed by a headscarf may, however, enhance perceivers' ability to process internal facial information. To examine this claim empirically, participants in the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America completed a standard part-whole face recognition task. Accuracy on the task was examined using a 2 (perceiver culture: Emirati vs American) x 2 (face race: Arab vs white) x 2 (probe type: part vs whole) x 3 (probe feature: eyes vs nose vs mouth) mixed-measures analysis of variance. As predicted, Emiratis outperformed Americans on the administered task. Although their recognition advantage occurred regardless of probe type, it was most pronounced for Arab faces and for trials that captured the processing of nose or mouth information. The findings demonstrate that culture-based experiences hone perceivers' face processing skills.

Cold-blooded loneliness: social exclusion leads to lower skin temperatures.

Being ostracized or excluded, even briefly and by strangers, is painful and threatens fundamental needs. Recent work by Zhong and Leonardelli (2008) found that excluded individuals perceive the room as cooler and that they desire warmer drinks. A perspective that many rely on in embodiment is the theoretical idea that people use metaphorical associations to understand social exclusion (see Landau, Meier, & Keefer, 2010). We suggest that people feel colder because they are colder. The results strongly support the idea that more complex metaphorical understandings of social relations are scaffolded onto literal changes in bodily temperature: Being excluded in an online ball tossing game leads to lower finger temperatures (Study 1), while the negative affect typically experienced after such social exclusion is alleviated after holding a cup of warm tea (Study 2). The authors discuss further implications for the interaction between body and social relations specifically, and for basic and cognitive systems in general.