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Working memory capacity and the risky-choice framing effect: A preregistered replication and extension of Corbin et al. (2010)
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Description: Higher working memory capacity is associated with superior performance on a number of tasks but may it sometimes be paradoxically associated with suboptimal performance? Corbin et al. (2010) found that, in a between-subjects design, higher WMC is associated with a larger risky-choice framing effect, traditionally conceived of as a departure from rational principles. Such surprising findings are of potentially great theoretical importance, yet the original study was underpowered. In this registered report, we aimed to replicate and extend the original findings, by conducting an online experiment among N(planned) = 400 participants. To extend the findings beyond the specific single tasks used in the original study, we used three WMC tasks with different processing components and six framing problems involving human lives. In a close replication, the frame significantly interacted with [both Ospan short absolute and Ospan short partial scores | Ospan short absolute score but not Ospan short partial score | Ospan short partial score but not Ospan short absolute score | neither Ospan short absolute score nor Ospan short partial score] in predicting ratings on the Disease framing problem. [Similarly | In contrast], in an extended replication, a composite WMC score [interacted significantly | did not significantly interact] with the frame in predicting ratings on three framing problems involving human lives. The Bayes factors [report and interpret]. Taken together, these findings [show | suggest] [a positive | a negative | an absence of] association with the between-subjects risky-choice framing effect and WMC. [Include a sentence about the theoretical/practical implications.]