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Episode 15: The Psychology Replication Crisis

  • Writer: Our Stories and Our Selves
    Our Stories and Our Selves
  • Nov 26
  • 3 min read

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The replication crisis in psychology has come about for a range of reasons, including the stories we tell outselves about research and science. In this eposide I dive into these stories, and the overlapping issues combined into the story of a crisis. I also do a deeper dive into self-fullfilling prophecies as after all prophecies are stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and about each other.


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Sources:

Derek Schaedig. (2024, February 13). Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Psychology: Definition & Examples. https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-fulfilling-prophecy.html


Earp, B. D., & Trafimow, D. (2015). Replication, falsification, and the crisis of confidence in social psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00621


Expectancy Effect—An overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 November 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/expectancy-effect


Foley-Fisher, N., Narajabad, B., & Verani, S. (2020). Self-Fulfilling Runs: Evidence from the US Life Insurance Industry. Journal of Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1086/708817


Gentup, S., Lorenz, G., Kristen, C., & Kogan. (2020). Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom: Teacher expectations, teacher feedback and student achievement. Learning and Instruction, 66, 101296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101296


Huston, M. (2018). Psychology’s Course Correction | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201801/psychologys-course-correction


Huston, M. (2019). What Findings Do Skeptical Psychologists Still Believe In? | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/201905/what-findings-do-skeptical-psychologists-still-believe-in


Instances of Scientific Misconduct | Diederik Stapel | Best Practices in Science. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 November 2025, from https://bps.stanford.edu/home/instances-scientific-misconduct/instances-scientific-misconduct-diederik-stapel


Julie. (2025, June 14). The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Study—Setup, Results, and Psychological Insights. Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo. https://www.zimbardo.com/the-self-fulfilling-prophecy-study-setup-results-and-psychological-insights/


Jussim, L. (2012). Social Psychological Unicorns: Do Failed Replications Dispel Scientific Myths? | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rabble-rouser/201207/social-psychological-unicorns-do-failed-replications-dispel-scientific


Jussim, L. (2016). Are Most Published Social Psychology Findings False? | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rabble-rouser/201602/are-most-published-social-psychology-findings-false


Jussim, L., & Harber, K. D. (2005). Teacher Expectations and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Knowns and Unknowns, Resolved and Unresolved Controversies. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9(2), 131–155. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0902_3


Korbmacher, M., Azevedo, F., Pennington, C. R., Hartmann, H., Pownall, M., Schmidt, K., Elsherif, M., Breznau, N., Robertson, O., Kalandadze, T., Yu, S., Baker, B. J., O’Mahony, A., Olsnes, J. Ø.-S., Shaw, J. J., Gjoneska, B., Yamada, Y., Röer, J. P., Murphy, J., … Evans, T. (2023). The replication crisis has led to positive structural, procedural, and community changes. Communications Psychology, 1(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-023-00003-2


Loncar, T. (2021). A decade of power posing: Where do we stand? BPS. https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/decade-power-posing-where-do-we-stand


Madon, S., Scherr, K. C., Spoth, R., Guyll, M., Willard, J., & Vogel, D. L. (2013). The Role Of The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Young Adolescents’ Responsiveness To A Substance Use Prevention Program. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(9), 1784–1798. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12126


Markman, A. (2024). Revisiting the Self-Refilling Bowl of Soup | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/202402/revisiting-the-self-refilling-bowl-of-soup


Nagy, T., Hergert, J., Elsherif, M. M., Wallrich, L., Schmidt, K., Waltzer, T., Payne, J. W., Gjoneska, B., Seetahul, Y., Wang, Y. A., Scharfenberg, D., Tyson, G., Yang, Y.-F., Skvortsova, A., Alarie, S., Graves, K., Sotola, L. K., Moreau, D., & Rubínová, E. (2025). Bestiary of Questionable Research Practices in Psychology. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 8(3), 25152459251348431. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459251348431


Petropoulos Petalas, D., van Schie, H., & Hendriks Vettehen, P. (2017). Forecasted economic change and the self-fulfilling prophecy in economic decision-making. PLoS ONE, 12(3), e0174353. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174353


Psychology Today staff, R. (n.d.-b). Replication Crisis | Psychology Today United Kingdom. Retrieved 16 November 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/replication-crisis


Replication Crisis—An overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 November 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/replication-crisis


Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the Classroom. Holt, Rinehard and Winston, Inc.


Salganik, M. J., & Watts, D. J. (2008). Leading the Herd Astray: An Experimental Study of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in an Artificial Cultural Market. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(4), 338. https://doi.org/10.1177/019027250807100404


Self-Fulfilling Prophecy—An overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 November 2025, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/self-fulfilling-prophecy


Stricker, J., & Günther, A. (2019). Scientific misconduct in psychology: A systematic review of prevalence estimates and new empirical data. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 227(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000356


Stroebe, W., & Strack, F. (2014). The Alleged Crisis and the Illusion of Exact Replication. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(1), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613514450


Sullivan, G. M., & Feinn, R. (2012). Using Effect Size—Or Why the P Value Is Not Enough. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 4(3), 279–282. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-12-00156.1

 
 
 

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