e-ISSN: Pending

Browse the failure-mode index

19,808 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures · Negative / Null Result Report. Search the index →

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record compiled from open scholarly databases; the abstract is shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed, otherwise a short excerpt under fair use. Classifications are automated and approximate.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessDecision Sciences

Magical thinking in predictions of negative events: Evidence for tempting fate but not for a protection effect

J. van Wolferen, Yoel Inbar, Marcel Zeelenberg · 2013 · Judgment and Decision Making

Abstract In this paper we test two hypotheses regarding magical thinking about the perceived likelihood of future events. The first is that people believe that those who “tempt fate” by failing to take necessary precautions are more likely to suffer negative outcomes. The second is the “protection effect”, where reminding people of precautions they have taken leads them to see related risks as less likely. To this end, we describe the results from three attempted direct replications of a protection effect experiment reported in Tykocinski (2008) and two replications of a tempting fate experime

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Null results in bilingualism research

Ellen Bialystok · 2020 · Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices

The controversy over whether bilingualism has consequences for mind and brain shows no sign of abating. A steady stream of research reporting both positive results supporting the claim for beneficial effects of bilingualism and null…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportPsychology

Small-Group, Emergent Literacy Intervention Under Two Implementation Models: Intent-to-Treat and Dosage Effects for Preschoolers at Risk for Reading Difficulties

Shayne B. Piasta, Jessica A. R. Logan, Cynthia M. Zettler‐Greeley et al. · 2022 · Journal of Learning Disabilities

Preschool-age children identified as at risk for later reading difficulties can benefit from supplemental, small-group emergent literacy intervention. As such interventions become commercially available and marketed to preschool programs,…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Functional co-activation of the default mode network in APOE ε4-carriers: A replication study

Lara J. Mentink, Joao Guimaraes, Myrthe Faber et al. · 2021 · NeuroImage

Structural and functional alterations of the brain in persons genetically at-risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are crucial in unravelling AD development. Filippini et al. found that the default mode network (DMN) is already affected in young APOE ε4-carriers, with increased co-activation of the DMN during rest and increased hippocampal task activation. We aimed to replicate the early findings of Filippini et al, using the APOE gene, still the principal AD risk gene, and extended this with a polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis for AD, using the Human Connectome Project dataset (HCP). We include

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMathematics

Representation of numerical magnitude in math-anxious individuals

Àngels Colomé · 2018 · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

Larger distance effects in high math-anxious individuals (HMA) performing comparison tasks have previously been interpreted as indicating less precise magnitude representation in this population. A recent study by Dietrich, Huber, Moeller, and Klein limited the effects of math anxiety to symbolic comparison, in which they found larger distance effects for HMA, despite equivalent size effects. However, the question of whether distance effects in symbolic comparison reflect the properties of the magnitude representation or decisional processes is currently under debate. This study was designed t

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Radioactive Iodine Therapy Did Not Significantly Increase the Incidence and Recurrence of Subsequent Breast Cancer

Hwa Young Ahn, Hye Sook Min, Yohwan Yeo et al. · 2015 · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

CONTEXT: Previous studies on the extent to which radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy for thyroid cancer increases the risk of subsequently developing breast cancer have given conflicting results. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPsychology

How bad is the mere presence of a phone? A replication of Przybylski and Weinstein (2013) and an extension to creativity

Claire Linares, Anne-Laure Sellier · 2021 · PLoS ONE

A 2013 article reported two experiments suggesting that the mere presence of a cellphone (vs. a notebook) can impair the relationship quality between strangers. The purpose of the present research is twofold: (1) closely replicate this article's findings, and (2) examine whether there may be an impact of the mere presence of a phone on creativity, whether at a group- or an individual- level. In two experiments (N = 356 participants, 136 groups), we followed the original procedure in the 2013 article. In particular, groups of participants who had never seen each other before the study had a con

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Replication of the Association of a MET Variant with Autism in a Chinese Han Population

Xue Zhou, Yang Xu, Jia Wang et al. · 2011 · PLoS ONE

BACKGROUND: Autism is a common, severe and highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder in children, affecting up to 100 children per 10,000. The MET gene has been regarded as a promising candidate gene for this disorder because it is located within a replicated linkage interval, is involved in pathways affecting the development of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum in ways relevant to autism patients, and has shown significant association signals in previous studies. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we present new ASD patient and control samples from Heilongjiang, China and use them in a case-contro

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Developmental psychologists should adopt citizen science to improve generalization and reproducibility

Wei Li, Laura Germine, Samuel A. Mehr et al. · 2022 · Infant and Child Development

Widespread failures of replication and generalization are, ironically, a scientific triumph, in that they confirm the fundamental metascientific theory that underlies our field. Generalizable and replicable findings require testing large…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Genome-Wide Association Study of Serum Fructosamine and Glycated Albumin in Adults Without Diagnosed Diabetes: Results From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Stephanie Loomis, Man Li, Nisa M. Maruthur et al. · 2018 · Diabetes

Fructosamine and glycated albumin are potentially useful alternatives to hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) as diabetes biomarkers. The genetic determinants of fructosamine and glycated albumin, however, are unknown. We performed genome-wide…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine

Intensive Care Unit Educators: A Multicenter Evaluation of Behaviors Residents Value in Attending Physicians

Lekshmi Santhosh, Snigdha Jain, Anna K. Brady et al. · 2017 · Annals of the American Thoracic Society

RATIONALE: It is important for attending physicians to know which behaviors influence learner perceptions. To date, two studies focusing on general medicine attending physicians have been published addressing internal medicine residents'…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Combination of Olanzapine and Samidorphan Has No Clinically Significant Effect on the Pharmacokinetics of Lithium or Valproate

Lei Sun, Sergey Yagoda, Baiyun Yao et al. · 2019 · Clinical Drug Investigation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia and, either as monotherapy or as an adjunct to lithium or valproate, for bipolar I disorder. Multiple daily doses of olanzapine…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportSocial Sciences

The Impact of Teach for America on Non-Test Academic Outcomes

Ben Backes, Michael Hansén · 2017 · Education Finance and Policy

Recent evidence on teacher productivity suggests that teachers meaningfully influence non-test academic student outcomes that are commonly overlooked by narrowly focusing on test scores. Despite a large number of studies investigating the…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportBusiness, Management and Accounting

Molecular Genetics and Hormones: New Frontiers in Entrepreneurship Research

Matthijs van der Loos · 2011 · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS)

Recent studies suggest that entrepreneurship is partly heritable, but are unable to pinpoint the specific genes involved. This thesis presents results from novel research aiming to identify genes associated with entrepreneurship using…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Reexamining the “brain drain” effect: A replication of Ward et al. (2017)

Ana C. Ruiz Pardo, John Paul Minda · 2022 · Acta Psychologica

The present study was a pre-registered direct replication of Ward et al.'s (2017) second experiment (OSF pre-registration found at: https://osf.io/5fq4r). This replication assigned both smartphone location (on desk, in pocket/bag, or outside of the testing room) and smartphone power (on, or off) for a total of six conditions. Participants completed an automated operation span (OSpan) task, a Cue-Dependent Go/No-Go task, and the smartphone attachment and dependency inventory. It was hypothesized that performance on an attention-demanding task (i.e., the OSpan task) would be worse for those in c

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportPsychology

Simulating semantics: Are individual differences in motor imagery related to sensorimotor effects in language processing?

Emiko J. Muraki, Penny M. Pexman · 2021 · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition

In embodied theories of semantic representation, the processes and mechanisms of modal simulations that are engaged during semantic processing have tended to be underspecified. We investigated the possibility that motor imagery may be a…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Variants Associated with the Ankle Brachial Index Differ by Hispanic/Latino Ethnic Group: a genome-wide association study in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Tamar Sofer, Leslie S. Emery, Deepti Jain et al. · 2019 · Scientific Reports

Abstract Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) burden differs by race/ethnicity. Although familial aggregation and heritability studies suggest a genetic basis, little is known about the genetic susceptibility to PAD, especially in non-European descent populations. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of the ankle brachial index (ABI) and PAD (defined as an ABI < 0.90) have not been conducted in Hispanics/Latinos. We performed a GWAS of PAD and the ABI in 7,589 participants aged >45 years from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). We also performed

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Replication and Heritability of Prostate Cancer Risk Variants: Impact of Population-Specific Factors

Victor Virlogeux, Rebecca E. Graff, Thomas J. Hoffmann et al. · 2015 · Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates vary across populations, with African American men exhibiting the highest rates. To date, genome-wide association studies have identified 104 SNPs independently associated with…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportNeuroscience

The Relationship Between Immorality and Cleansing

Jedidiah Siev, Shelby E. Zuckerman, Joseph J. Siev · 2018 · Social Psychology

Abstract. In a widely publicized set of studies, participants who were primed to consider unethical events preferred cleansing products more than did those primed with ethical events ( Zhong & Liljenquist, 2006 ). This tendency to…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportSocial Sciences

Benefits of power posing: effects on dominance and social sensitivity

Lukas Klaschinski, Konrad Schnabel, Michela Schröder–Abé · 2017 · Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology

The current study attempted to replicate results by Cuddy, Wilmuth, Yap, and Carney (2015) who showed that adopting high-power poses prior to a demanding job interview improved dominant behavior and overall hireability judgments. We…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Gut Microbiota Modulation through Akkermansia spp . Supplementation Increases CAR T-cell Potency

Laura Marcos-Kovandzic, Michele Avagliano, Myriam Ben Khelil et al. · 2025 · Cancer Discovery

This study investigates the clinical relevance of the gut microbiome at taxonomic and metabolic levels in anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, both in patients and in a preclinical syngeneic tumor model. Patients with…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPsychology

Journal N-Pact Factors From 2011 to 2019: Evaluating the Quality of Social/Personality Journals With Respect to Sample Size and Statistical Power

R. Chris Fraley, Jia Y. Chong, Kyle A. Baacke et al. · 2022 · Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

Scholars and institutions commonly use impact factors to evaluate the quality of empirical research. However, a number of findings published in journals with high impact factors have failed to replicate, suggesting that impact alone may…

View details →
Negative / Null Result Report

The dog that failed to bark

Tom Burns · 2010 · The Psychiatrist

Summary UK mental healh services have been distinguished by their continuity of care but recently there has been a move to separating consultant responsibility for in-patient and out-patient care. Local examples of the success of this…

View details →
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Native language identification: explorations and applications

Shervin Malmasi · 2016 · Figshare

The prediction of an author's native language using only their second language writing -- a task called Native Language Identification (NLI) -- is usually tackled using supervised classification. This is underpinned by the presupposition…

View details →