Can we trust meta-analyses in psychology? Real-life meaning of the heterogeneity of effects
 
Dr. Kinga Bierwiaczonek, University of Oslo
 
 
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.