This manuscript is a programmatic Registered Report that is expected to be the basis of two final manuscripts, one of which explores the feedback mechanisms applied researchers adopt in their work and the role of open scholarship in applied research, and the second that focuses upon climate change.

Working together (vs. individually) improves the performance of people from working-class contexts. Consequently, teams with a higher (vs. lower) percentage of individuals from working-class contexts perform better. However, previous research offers two competing mechanisms for this effect. On the one hand, research has provided evidence for a pathway through skills: people from working-class contexts more frequently engage in effective group processes when working together. On the other hand, there is evidence for a pathway through sense of fit: individuals from working-class contexts feel a greater sense of belonging in interdependent settings. In this registered report, we will provide the first simultaneous test of these two proposed mechanisms as the route to successful performance for working-class individuals in teams. Moreover, we will examine if meeting mode—i.e., the extent to which teams work together synchronously (vs. asynchronously)—serves as an important boundary condition for the performance of people from working-class contexts in teams. We hypothesize that the beneficial effects of working together for students from working-class contexts will be diminished when teams work together primarily asynchronously. Lastly, we will provide the first confirmatory test and extension in a real-world collegiate setting where students from working-class contexts are in the majority (in contrast to prior work where they were in the numerical minority). Taken together, this registered report will replicate and extend past research on contextual routes to reduce social class inequalities, and shed light on the mechanisms through which these routes operate.

Objectives: Racial discrimination experiences contribute to health disparities and can influence individuals’ health. Yet, pathways by which discrimination-related experiences affect alcohol craving remain understudied using experimental designs. Additionally, limited research has examined possible differential effects of “major” discrimination and microaggression experiences in everyday life on alcohol craving. This between-groups experiment examined causal effects of everyday racial discrimination on stress, negative emotions, and alcohol craving. We also tested indirect pathways by which discrimination-related experiences were linked to alcohol craving via stress and negative emotions. Method: People of color and Indigenous peoples participated in the study (N=184; Mage=23.90; 47.8% women; 48.9% community adults). Participants were randomized to one of four experimental conditions, in which they experienced in virtual environments either “major” discrimination, microinsult, microinvalidation, or daily hassles unrelated to race/racism. Participants’ levels of stress, negative emotions, and alcohol craving were assessed immediately before and after experimental simulations. Results: Compared to daily hassles unrelated to race/racism, simulated racial discrimination elicited greater stress and negative emotions. Daily hassles caused greater alcohol craving among those who endorsed higher levels of coping motives for drinking. We observed minimal differences in stress and negative emotions across the three racial discrimination conditions, and found no evidence supporting indirect links between racial discrimination and alcohol craving via stress and negative emotions. Conclusion: Everyday racial discrimination—regardless of intensity level—is more stressful than daily hassles unrelated to race/racism. Future research should examine cumulative effects of racial discrimination, and understanding individual difference factors that moderate its immediate and delayed effects.

Intact cognitive control is critical for goal-directed behavior and is widely studied in healthy and clinical populations using the error-related negativity (ERN). A common assumption in such studies is that ERNs recorded during different experimental paradigms reflect the same construct or functionally equivalent processes and that ERN is functionally distinct from other error-monitoring event-related potentials (ERPs; error positivity [Pe]), other neurophysiological indices of cognitive control (N2), and even other indices unrelated to cognitive control (visual N1). The present registered report represents a replication-plus-extension study of the psychometric validity of cognitive control ERPs (Riesel et al., 2013, Biological Psychology) and evaluated the convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, N2, and visual N1 recorded during three paradigms (flanker, Stroop, Go/no-go). Data from 182 participants were collected from two study sites, and ERP psychometric reliability and validity were evaluated in comparison to ERPs and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Findings supported replication of convergent and divergent validity of ERN, Pe, and Pe (error minus correct)—these ERPs correlated more with themselves across tasks than with other ERPs measured during the same task. Convergent validity of ERN across tasks was not replicated, despite high internal consistency. ERN was strongly correlated with N2 at levels similar or higher than those in support of convergent validity for other ERPs, although the present study failed to provide evidence of divergent validity for ERN and Pe from N2 or the theoretically-unrelated N1. ERN and ERN were unrelated to internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Present findings underscore the importance of considering the psychometric validity of ERPs as it provides a foundation for interpreting and comparing ERPs across different tasks and studies.

Registered Reports were introduced a decade ago to reduce data dredging and the selective reporting of “statistically significant” results in journal articles. Previous studies have examined the extent to which journals have adopted the procedure and the number of such articles published in these journals. This bibliometric study focuses on the subdiscipline that has most thoroughly adopted the procedure, experimental psychology, and compiles a more complete list of published Registered Reports than used in previous studies and estimates their prevalence in the experimental psychology literature using Web of Science for total article counts. Thirty-six experimental psychology journals were found to have adopted the procedure, but 11 had not published any Registered Reports by the end of 2023. One journal accounted for almost 30% of the 227 Registered Reports, and eight others for a further 50%. Registered Reports represented a small percentage of the total experimental psychology articles published over the period 2013–2023 at 1.2%. Lack of diffusion of Registered Reports through the subdiscipline that has most fully embraced it is likely due to it having little value within the academic incentive system. Future studies would benefit from journals more accurately identifying Registered Reports and the creation of a central registry.

BACKGROUND: Swallowing difficulties (ie, dysphagia) are common among older adults, with a 13% to 54% prevalence. Adequate interventions to improve the swallowing function of older adults would reduce morbidity and enhance health-related quality of life outcomes. Mobile health (mHealth) apps may help alleviate dysphagia symptoms by providing programs that maximize the intensity and frequency of training without requiring high costs or regular clinic visits. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to assess the usability of swallowing training apps by quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating older adults' self-reported data, taking into consideration their educational levels and exposure to mobile technology. We conducted surveys and brief interviews while the participants used a swallowing intervention app we developed. We subsequently identified and resolved individual-specific usability issues to improve future implementation of the app protocol for older persons with swallowing difficulties. METHODS: A total of 11 participants (10 women, 91%; mean age 75.7 years, SD 3.93) from two district-run senior welfare centers took part in this study. The participants were divided into a high-potential group and a low-potential group based on their total number of years of education and smart device usage. To investigate the usability of the app twice (ie, in the second week of the intervention and the postintervention stage), we used mixed methods consisting of both quantitative approaches, namely the System Usability Scale (SUS) and modified Computer Self-Efficacy Scale (mCSES) surveys, and qualitative approaches (ie, interviews). RESULTS: The quantitative results of the SUS and mCSES surveys revealed that the high-potential group was more inclined to adopt and learn new technology than the low-potential group. Specifically, within the high-potential group, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that the postintervention mCSES scores (median 65.50) were significantly higher than those in the second week of intervention (median 54.00; z=-2.023, P=.04). Additionally, the usability scores in the low-potential group were within the "marginal acceptability" range even after completion of an 8-week intervention program. Qualitative analyses via semi-structured interviews yielded promising outcomes regarding app acceptability, training program utilization, emotional responses, and learning experience. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this usability and feasibility study is the first report of a swallowing training app designed to improve the swallowing function of older adults. Future research should consider several issues, such as user characteristics, pretraining education, and the intensity and innate characteristics of the intervention program.

BACKGROUND: Specific learning disorder (SLD) of reading skills impacts approximately 7% of children. Speech and reading therapy is currently the gold-standard intervention for improving children's reading abilities. However, intensive interventions are difficult to implement. Recently, numerous studies have investigated the interest of game- and home-based training approaches to enhance children's motivation and facilitate intensive learning activities in home settings. The serious game Poppins Clinical integrates rhythm and specific written language exercises to improve reading skills in children with SLD. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the noninferiority of Poppins Clinical combined with a reading specialist session once every 2 weeks versus a reading specialist session every week, on the reading skills of children with SLD. METHODS: A total of 306 children with dyslexia will be recruited for this study and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Children in the experimental group will use the serious game Poppins Clinical at home for 20 minutes, 5 days a week, and attend 1 reading therapy session every 2 weeks. The control group will participate in one reading therapy session per week. Poppins Clinical combines rhythm and language exercises integrated into an engaging game designed to maintain user motivation. We will use a noninferiority paradigm to assess the clinical impact of both interventions in terms of reading accuracy, reading speed, and reading comprehension. We will also investigate the evolution of phonological and visual-attentional skills. However, we will explore the impact of the protocol on parental stress and children's perception of their difficulties. Finally, we will also assess the cost of medical care and the impact of introducing the serious game Poppins Clinical on reading therapy. To facilitate recruitment and ensure the representativeness of our sample, the evaluation of the children will be conducted via videoconference using standardized tests that have been adapted for videoconference administration. RESULTS: Patient recruitment is expected to start in December 2024, with study completion by the end of August 2025. CONCLUSIONS: This study should allow us to assess the interest in using the serious game Poppins Clinical in addition to reading therapy to improve reading abilities in children with SLD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06592911; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06592911. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/71326.

It is important to understand how persuasive the most-cited climate change messaging strategies are. In five replication studies, we found limited evidence of persuasive effects of three highly cited strategies (N = 3,216). We then conducted a registered report megastudy (N = 13,544) testing the effects of the 10 most-cited climate change messaging strategies on Americans’ pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour. Six messages significantly affected multiple preregistered attitudes, with effects ranging from 1 to 4 percentage points. Persuasiveness varied little across party lines, inconsistent with theories predicting heterogeneous effects for targeted messages. No message increased pro-environmental donations, suggesting costly behaviours are difficult to influence with messaging alone. Inference of mechanisms driving effects was limited as the most impactful messages influenced multiple mediating variables. Taken together, these results identify several persuasive strategies, while also highlighting the limits of short-form messages for increasing Americans’ support for action to address climate change.

Are experiences that bring meaning different from experiences that bring happiness? If so, do people seek out different experiences in pursuing meaning versus happiness? In an adversarial collaboration, we conducted three preregistered experiments (total N = 879) to address these questions. We asked participants to describe an experience from the past month (Study 1) or past day (Study 2) that had provided them with either happiness, meaning, happiness without meaning, or meaning without happiness. Experiences that were happy but not meaningful differed substantially from those that were meaningful but not happy. However, experiences that provided happiness showed only small differences from those that provided meaning. In Study 3, to examine whether people seek out different experiences in pursuing happiness versus meaning, we instructed participants to choose an activity over the weekend that would provide them with happiness, meaning, happiness without meaning, or meaning without happiness. Again, experiences differed substantially when people pursued happiness without meaning or meaning without happiness, but these differences disappeared when people were simply told to pursue happiness or meaning. Our findings suggest that happiness and meaning are linked to distinct sets of thoughts, feelings and behaviors, but the differences between them are small in everyday life.