British Journal of Replication Psychology

A response to Brian Hughes' piece on exaggeration in psychology.

09 October 2018

In his article ‘Does psychology face an exaggeration crisis?’ (October 2018) Professor Brian Hughes points to several systemic issues, including the incentive of journal publication and citations for innovative research findings. Professor Hughes suggests it might be necessary to dismantle the journal system in order to allow replication studies to receive more attention and kudos.

I see an alternative option, to publish journals that feature only replication studies. Everybody loves a ‘myth-busting’ story, and I would certainly sign up for a journal that routinely unpicked the evidence for received wisdom. I think this would be both a bestseller, and an opportunity for a wider range of psychologists to relish the ego-boost of publication. Everybody wins.

Please do publish my name with this letter, as I wouldn’t want anyone else getting the credit.

Simon Robinson
Aberdeenshire