Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013

In this pre-registered study, we tried to replicate the study by Rigoni et al. 2013 Cognition 127, 264–269. In the original study, the authors manipulated the participants’ belief in free will in a between-subject design and subsequently measured post-error slowing (i.e. slower responses after an in...

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Main Authors: Charlotte Eben, Zhang Chen, Emiel Cracco, Marcel Brass, Joël Billieux, Frederick Verbruggen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2020-11-01
Series:Royal Society Open Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.200664
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spelling doaj-30c6eb4c550e4d1e9d0f5ae9a549e5492021-01-15T15:05:37ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032020-11-0171110.1098/rsos.200664200664Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013Charlotte EbenZhang ChenEmiel CraccoMarcel BrassJoël BillieuxFrederick VerbruggenIn this pre-registered study, we tried to replicate the study by Rigoni et al. 2013 Cognition 127, 264–269. In the original study, the authors manipulated the participants’ belief in free will in a between-subject design and subsequently measured post-error slowing (i.e. slower responses after an incorrect trial compared with a correct trial) as a marker of cognitive control. They found less post-error slowing in the group with reduced belief in free will (anti-free will group) compared with a control group in which belief in free will was not manipulated. In the present study, we used the same task procedure and the same free will manipulation (Crick text) in an attempt to replicate these findings. However, we used an online procedure and a larger sample size in order to address concerns about statistical power. Similar to the original study, we also used a questionnaire to measure beliefs in free will as an independent manipulation check. We found a difference in the scores on the questionnaire, thus a reduced belief in free will, after reading the Crick text. However, we did not find any difference in post-error slowing between the anti-free will and control groups. Our findings are in line with several other recent findings suggesting that the Crick text manipulation affects the participants’ self-reported belief in free will but not their behaviour. The present study can be considered a high-powered failed replication attempt.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.200664post-error slowingbelief in free willreplicationaction control
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Charlotte Eben
Zhang Chen
Emiel Cracco
Marcel Brass
Joël Billieux
Frederick Verbruggen
spellingShingle Charlotte Eben
Zhang Chen
Emiel Cracco
Marcel Brass
Joël Billieux
Frederick Verbruggen
Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
Royal Society Open Science
post-error slowing
belief in free will
replication
action control
author_facet Charlotte Eben
Zhang Chen
Emiel Cracco
Marcel Brass
Joël Billieux
Frederick Verbruggen
author_sort Charlotte Eben
title Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
title_short Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
title_full Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
title_fullStr Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
title_full_unstemmed Are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? A failure to replicate Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass and Burle, 2013
title_sort are post-error adjustments influenced by beliefs in free will? a failure to replicate rigoni, wilquin, brass and burle, 2013
publisher The Royal Society
series Royal Society Open Science
issn 2054-5703
publishDate 2020-11-01
description In this pre-registered study, we tried to replicate the study by Rigoni et al. 2013 Cognition 127, 264–269. In the original study, the authors manipulated the participants’ belief in free will in a between-subject design and subsequently measured post-error slowing (i.e. slower responses after an incorrect trial compared with a correct trial) as a marker of cognitive control. They found less post-error slowing in the group with reduced belief in free will (anti-free will group) compared with a control group in which belief in free will was not manipulated. In the present study, we used the same task procedure and the same free will manipulation (Crick text) in an attempt to replicate these findings. However, we used an online procedure and a larger sample size in order to address concerns about statistical power. Similar to the original study, we also used a questionnaire to measure beliefs in free will as an independent manipulation check. We found a difference in the scores on the questionnaire, thus a reduced belief in free will, after reading the Crick text. However, we did not find any difference in post-error slowing between the anti-free will and control groups. Our findings are in line with several other recent findings suggesting that the Crick text manipulation affects the participants’ self-reported belief in free will but not their behaviour. The present study can be considered a high-powered failed replication attempt.
topic post-error slowing
belief in free will
replication
action control
url https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.200664
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