Mita Philosophical Society Lecture: Basic Psychology Forum "The Times They Are a-Changin'—From the Reproducibility Problem to a Paradigm Shift in Basic Psychology"

May 1, 2018

Purpose

In recent years, the issue of psychological research findings not being reproducible has been actively debated, and basic psychology is one of the fields right in the middle of this turmoil. Basic psychologists must now choose their own future. In this lecture series, we will welcome three expert speakers who will give presentations on three levels of topics: reforms in individual research practices and education, reforms in data analysis using Bayesian statistics, and reforms in academic publishing, including pre-registration. Starting with the reproducibility problem, we aim to take this opportunity to break through the limits of basic psychology and move forward, providing hints to pave a concrete path for doing so.

Lecture Summaries

Lecture 1: Koki Ikeda (Chukyo University), "How Will the Reproducibility Problem Change Psychology Education?"

In recent years, it has become widely known that many scientific findings are not reproducible. With the exception of epidemiological studies, psychology researchers have been among the first to tackle this issue, proposing numerous systematic reforms. This lecture will provide an overview of the temporal progression of this problem and the countermeasures that have been proposed to date. Furthermore, by examining the implications these have for the earliest stages of psychology education, I will point out that the ongoing reforms demand a fundamental paradigm shift in psychological research and education.

Lecture 2: Koji Kosugi (Senshu University), "Engaging with New Statistics"

The reproducibility problem is likely due in part to the weaknesses of null hypothesis significance testing manifesting in a negative way. However, the issue may not be with the logic itself, but rather with our relationship with statistics. For psychologists, statistics are merely a methodology, and it is a natural desire to want to spend more time thinking about psychological problems rather than expending effort on statistics. Unfortunately, however, conventional statistical methods were prone to failure if approached half-heartedly. Switching to Bayesian statistics will not solve all problems, but at least for issues like sample size planning and multiple comparisons, it has a simpler and less error-prone structure. In this lecture, I will introduce these advantages of Bayesian statistics and consider how to engage with this new style of psychological statistics.

Lecture 3: Yoshiyuki Watanabe (Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine), "How Should Japanese-Language Academic Journals Address the Reproducibility Problem?"

To prevent misconduct and questionable research practices (QRPs) and to improve the reproducibility of psychological research, journals that publish this research are also required to establish systems in cooperation with researchers. This includes improving and revitalizing peer review systems, data sharing, and pre-registration to prevent misconduct and enhance reproducibility. On the other hand, academic society journals in particular face various difficulties in implementing such improvements while gaining the understanding of their members, given their limited budgets and human resources. In this lecture, after outlining the various strategies that journals can adopt to improve reproducibility and the current situation, I would like to consider the practical problems that Japanese-language academic journals in particular face in establishing a sustainable operational structure while responding to these demands.