Implementation Details ---------------------- This page describes how our lab implemented the procedures required by the official protocol for the RRR. It also describes and justifies any additions to or departures from that protocol. You can view the official protocl and the main project page for this RRR using these links: - Official Protocol: [https://osf.io/6wvj4/][1] - Main RRR project page: [https://osf.io/hgi2y/][2] - Project page with all materials: [https://osf.io/pkd65/][3] ---------- #### Experimenters #### The experimenters will be upper-level undergraduate psychology majors who have been trained as research assistants (RAs). The RAs will be enrolled in a course called Experimental Psychology PSY321. In this course, students learn how to conduct human participant research. They learn to follow ethical guidelines, to avoid common pitfalls (extraneous variables, experimenter expectancies, etc.). The entire course will revolve around conducting the replication. Students will be trained in methodology of psychological science generally and specifically for running this replication. The students will first practice running the study on each other, with my supervision. We will be able to devote as much practice time as is necessary for the RAs to master the procedures. Students are informed at the start of the semester that the course requires time outside of class. The total number of RAs will be determined by the enrollment numbers of the course. Typically, the course enrollment is between 9 and 14 students. Once the students have mastered their roles as experimenters, they will run participants. I will be very closely overseeing the experimenters for the duration of the replication. I am familiar with the Strack Martin & Stepper (1988) article and method because I used the study as an in-class activity for many semesters. I do not have any special expertise in the topics of emotion, facial expressions, physiological underpinnings of emotion, etc. I do have much experience conducting experiments with methods that are typical of cognitive psychology and perception psychology. I have much experience supervising undergraduates as they create their own original research. ---------- #### Setting/Lab/Equipment #### Participants will be tested in the Psych Lab at Walsh University. The Psych Lab is a small suite of 6 rooms, each with a PC, table, and chairs. Each room has a heavy door with a soundproofing 'drop down' door seal that engages when the door is shut. Each door has a small glass window. I plan to partially cover the window with paper so that participants do not feel they are being observed. Each room is fully isolated from the others; they are more than just cubicles. Each room is connected by a small hallway inside the lab. RAs can wait in the hallway outside each room door while participants complete the experiment. There is a main entrance door to the Lab that is secured with a swipecard entry system. Only faculty and authorized RAs are given access. The PCs in each room are Dell computers running Windows 7. The monitors are standard LCD screens in a 4:3 aspect ratio. At this time, we do not have cameras in the lab. When we get the cameras, they will be installed so that each participant's actions will be recorded on the PC. It may be as simple as common 'webcams' taped to the wall, or mounted on the PC monitor. We will test the camera placement to find the best position. The PCs will be adequate to show the instructions videos and to record the camera footage of the participants. Please see the attached photos and video (in Files) to get a better idea of our Psych Lab. ---------- #### Sample, subjects, and randomization #### **Target sample size:** We plan to test approximately 120 participants in total. **Target sample demographics:** In Fall 2015, there will be 3 sections of introductory psychology (PSY120), each with about 35 students. In addition, we will use sections of Human Development, another introductory psychology course that has no required prerequisite. These courses should allow us to reach 120 participants with 60 in each section. If we discover that exclusions have dropped our numbers below 120, then we have the option of running many more participants by opening up the participant pool to other psychology courses. One drawback of this plan is that students in non-introductory courses will be more likely to have learned about the facial-feedback hypothesis, and thus some of these students cannot participate. The participants will be compensated with points earned for their PSY class. Those in PSY120 will earn credit toward fulfilling their experiment participation requirement. It counts for 5% of their course grade. There is an alternative way for students to earn these points: Students can write short article reviews to earn their experimental points if for any reason they prefer not to participate in experiments. Participants from other PSy courses will receive a small amount of extra credit for participating. No participants will be paid or compensated in any way other than course points. Assuming a typical fall semester at Walsh, our sample will skew toward female (70/30 ratio), White (90/10 ratio), young (most will be 18 to 22 years old), and rural/suburban. Nearly all will be from in-state (Ohio) and will be native English speakers who are not bilingual. Walsh is located in a 'rust belt' county of Ohio and many students' backgrounds will reflect this georgraphy (middle-to-lower-class SES, first in family to attend college). **Minimum sample size after exclusions:** Our minimum sample size after exclusions will be 50 participants in each condition. **Stopping rule(s):** Our stopping rule will be simply to test 120 participants (60 in each condition) before we stop. At this point, we will look at exclusions. If the number of excluded participants drops our total below 50 in eaither condition, we will run another 10 participants. We will then check again for exclusions. **Randomization to conditions:** Each RA will be responsible for testing a certain number of participants. The testing will be 'divided up' among the RAs. The exact numbers depend on how many RAs there will be available (determined in late August). We will follow an alternating order approach. Each RA will pick up where the last finished, so as to preserve the alternating order of conditions. As each participant shows up to the lab, they will be assigned to one of the alternating conditions. **Blinding to conditions:** RAs will be carefully trained to avoid any behavior that could lead participants to learn or suspect that there are other conditions to the experiment. We will use delayed debriefing (approved by IRB) to avoid the possibility of participants sharing details about the experiment until all participants are run. **Exclusion rules:** We will use the same exclusion rules as in the official protocol, with no additional exclusion rules. We will retain all data from exculded participants (they will be marked for exclusion). The exclusion decisions will be made not by RAs, but by me (J. Wayand). ---------- #### Software/Code #### We will use the provided materials to conduct the replication. Our PCs can show the videos, and they can record video from USB-type cameras. ---------- #### Differences from the official protocol #### We will not make any additions or departures to the protocol. We will follow the protocol from beginning to end with no deviations or additional questions/tasks. [1]: https://osf.io/6wvj4/ [2]: https://osf.io/hgi2y/ [3]: https://osf.io/pkd65/