A tragedy of the (academic) commons: interpreting the replication crisis in psychology as a social dilemma for early-career researchers.

Jim A C Everett,Brian D Earp

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01152

Abstract

Several proposals for addressing the “replication crisis” in social psychology have been advanced in the recent literature. In this paper, we argue that the “crisis” be interpreted as a disciplinary social dilemma, with the problem facing early-career researchers being especially acute. To resolve this collective action problem, we offer a structural solution: as a condition of receiving their Ph.D. from any accredited institution, graduate students in psychology should be required to conduct, write up, and submit for publication a high-quality replication attempt of at least one key finding from the literature, focusing on the area of their doctoral research. We consider strengths, weaknesses, and implementation challenges associated with this proposal, and call on our colleagues to offer critical response.

Highlights

Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
Several proposals for addressing the “replication crisis” in social psychology have been advanced in the recent literature
Considering both the strengths and potential weaknesses of Frank and Saxe’s proposal, we asked ourselves: What about shifting the focus to graduate school? Imagine the following scenario: in order to receive a Ph.D. in psychology from any accredited institution in the United States, it is a requirement that one will have (1) conducted a high-quality “direct” replication of a major finding in their area; (2) written up the replication attempt to professional standards, no matter which way the data come out, and (3) made a good-faith effort to publish the paper in one of a growing number of high-quality online journals that publish reports of well-conducted, valid experiments regardless of their novelty or their perceived “importance.”. This would address several potential problems associated with Franke and Saxe’s (2012) suggestion, if it were to work as a structural solution to the replication crisis in psychology

Summary

The Replication Crisis as a Social Dilemma

Social dilemmas—situations in which collective interests are at odds with private interests—are an enduring feature of the modern world (Hardin, 1968). Since replication studies are harder to publish in the first place, and are considered less prestigious if and when they do come out, she might reason that she does not have much of a choice here: as a function of time invested, every direct replication that she conducts (and attempts to publish) will reduce her chances, on balance, of achieving meaningful career security, compared against the other researchers on her “rung of the ladder” who decline to conduct such replications, and focus instead on their own novel experiments The stakes of this dilemma must not be understated. Might the replication crisis be addressed in a way that does not put early-career researchers in such an untenable position?

The Need for Structural Solutions

Conclusion