The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Consequences of prejudice against the null hypothesis.
Abstract
The consequences of prejudice against accepting the null hypothesis were examined through (a) a mathematical model intended to stimulate the research-publication process and (b) case studies of apparent erroneous rejec-tions of the null hypothesis in published psychological research. The input parameters for the model characterize investigators ' probabilities of selecting a problem for which the null hypothesis is true, of reporting, following up on, or abandoning research when data do or do not reject the null hypothesis, and they characterize editors ' probabilities of publishing manuscripts concluding in favor of or against the null hypothesis. With estimates of the input parameters based on a questionnaire survey of a sample of social psychologists, the model output indicates a dysfunctional research-publication system. Particularly, the model indicates that there may be relatively few publications on problems for which the null hypothesis is (at least to a reasonable approximation) true, and of these, a high proportion will erroneously reject the null hypothesis. The case studies provide additional support for this conclusion. Accordingly, it is
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“The bias against negative results appears to be a consequence of both editors and reviewers finding them less compelling for publication and from authors themselves not trying to publish them 8-12”
From Initial evidence of research quality of registered reports compared with the standard publishing model (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“Positive results -- finding that a treatment is effective or that there is a relationship between two variables -- are more likely to be published than negative results 6-12 .”
From Initial evidence of research quality of registered reports compared with the standard publishing model (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“Theoretical analyses point to a system of incentives that prioritizes innovation over verification, leading to infrequent efforts to replicate findings and to behaviors that could reduce the replicability of published findings such as selective reporting, presenting exploratory findings as confirmatory tests, and failures of documentation, transparency, and sharing”
From Investigating the replicability of preclinical cancer biology (2021) · cites this paper as Greenwald, 1975
In the citing paper
“Research that produces novel results, statistically significant results (that is, typically p < 0.05) and seemingly 'clean' results is more likely to be published 2,3 .”
From Power failure: why small sample size undermines the reliability of neuroscience (2013) · cites this paper as [3]
In the citing paper
“An important qualification about this result is the possibility that the original studies have inflated effect sizes due to publication, selection, reporting, or other biases ( 9, 1223 ).”
From Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“Potentially problematic practices include selective reporting, selective analysis, and insufficient specification of the conditions necessary or sufficient to obtain the results ( 1223 ).”
From Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“There is good evidence that low power of research designs combined with publication bias favoring positive results over negative results produces a literature with upwardly biased effect sizes ( 14, 16, 30, 31 ).”
From Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“Concerns about reproducibility are widespread across disciplines ( 921 ).”
From Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science (2015) · cites this paper as [16]
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Efficacy of the Theory of Planned Behaviour: A meta‐analytic review
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“Greenwald, 1975; Rosenthal, 1984; White, 1982), although ndings are inconsistent. Related to this, the ‘ le drawer problem’ (Rosenthal, 1979) refers to the possibility that all published articles are the result of Type I errors, whereas all non-published (i.e. le drawer) studies are the remaining 95%. Reliability…”
MethodEstimating the reproducibility of psychological science
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“bias favoring positive results together produce a literature with upwardly biased effect sizes (14, 16, 33, 34).”
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“Meehl (1990a) attributed to the distinguished philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen the saying "All logic texts are divided into two parts.”
BackgroundMethodRichardson, M., Abraham, C., & Bond, R. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0026838 · Cited by 3,646
“Publication of statistically significant results is more probable (e.g., Greenwald, 1975), increasing the likelihood of Type I errors and an overestimation of the mean effect size in meta-analysis.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Greenwald, A. G.
- Affiliations
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Greenwald, Anthony G.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1975-01
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-20
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2116618538
- Cited by
- 1,022
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 20.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Academic Publishing and Open Access
- Keywords
- null hypothesis, publication bias, editorial decision-making, social psychology
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