Can we trust metaanalyses in psychology? Real-life meaning of the heterogeneity of effects

No contexto da ERA Chair Excelscior, o Centro de Neurociênicas e Biologia Celular (NC) irá trazer a Coimbra a Dra. Kinga Bierwiaczonek da Universidade de Oslo, Noruega, para dar uma palestra: “Can we trust meta-analyses in psychology? Real-life meaning of the heterogeneity of effects”.

Local: FPCE-UC |19.06.2023 - 11h30 | Sala 6, Edifício 2 (Colégio das Artes)

Abstract

In psychology, meta-analyses are highly valued and highly cited. They guide research, inform practitioners and policymakers, and influence the allocation of public funds. Covering dozens of studies, they routinely formulate strong conclusions; but are these conclusions really backed up by strong evidence? Recent findings contradicting some of the most prominent meta-analyses of the discipline suggest that meta-analytical evidence may be largely overstated, leading researchers and practitioners astray. For instance, the recent “battle of meta-analyses” on the link between biculturalism and well-being illustrates one common, and commonly overlooked, limitation of psychological meta-analyses: high heterogeneity of effects. In this talk, I will show how this heterogeneity translates into the real world, making bicultural people’s outcomes unpredictable. I will also discuss the scale of the issue across several other fields of psychology.