Testing the effect of cooperative/competitive priming on the Prisoner's Dilemma. A replication study

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 20;13(12):e0209263. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209263. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The replicability crisis in psychology demands direct replications to test the reliability of relevant phenomena. Prime-to-behavior effects have been an area under intense scrutiny given its surprising results. However, intuitive unsurprising effects have been mostly neglected, while they may lack robustness as well. In the present study, we focused on an intuitive prime-to-behavior effect in which Kay and Ross (2003) used a 2x2 design to test cooperation/competition priming crossed with an explicit/non-explicit construal of a Prisoner's Dilemma (PD). They found a stronger assimilation effect of priming when the situational construal anteceded the decision, but we could not reproduce their findings in the present close replication, despite counting on higher power. Even with limitations due to the unavailability of original materials, this replication presents evidence that questions the existence of the original finding, and highlights the need for further replications to get a deeper understanding of the hypothesized effect. The complete project is available at: https://osf.io/dhfns/.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Competitive Behavior
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Female
  • Game Theory
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Prisoner Dilemma*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This research was funded by The Argentine Council of Science and Technology (Spanish acronym: CONICET; grant number PIP 2014-2016 N 112-201301-00600-CO) and The Argentine Agency of Science and Technology Promotion (Grant code: PICT 2013-1582) in grants awarded to Esteban Freidin (EF).