The Replicability Crisis and Public Trust in Psychological Science

Abstract

Replication failures of past findings in several scientific disciplines, including psychology, medicine, and experimental economics, have created a ‘crisis of confidence’ among scientists. Psychological science has been at the forefront of tackling these issues, with discussions about replication failures and scientific self-criticisms of questionable research practices (QRPs) increasingly taking place in public forums. How this replicability crisis impacts the public’s trust is a question yet to be answered by research. Whereas some researchers believe that the public’s trust will be positively impacted or maintained, others believe trust will be diminished. Because it is our field of expertise, we focus on trust in psychological science. We performed a study testing how public trust in past and future psychological research would be impacted by being informed about i) replication failures, ii) replication failures and criticisms of QRPs, and iii) replication failures, criticisms of QRPs, and proposed reforms. Results from a mostly European sample (N = 1129) showed that, compared to a control group, whereas trust in past research was reduced when people were informed about the aspects of the replication crisis, trust in future research was maintained except when they were also informed about proposed reforms. Potential explanations are discussed.