title: On the (non) persuasive power of a brain image.
abstract: The persuasive power of brain images has captivated scholars in many disciplines. Like others, we too were intrigued by the finding that a brain image makes accompanying information more credible (McCabe & Castel in Cognition 107:343-352, 2008). But when our attempts to build on this effect failed, we instead ran a series of systematic replications of the original study-comprising 10 experiments and nearly 2,000 subjects. When we combined the original data with ours in a meta-analysis, we arrived at a more precise estimate of the effect, determining that a brain image exerted little to no influence. The persistent meme of the influential brain image should be viewed with a critical eye.
authors: School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors: Robert B
authors: RB
authors: Michael
authors: Eryn J
authors: EJ
authors: Newman
authors: Matti
authors: M
authors: Vuorre
authors: Geoff
authors: G
authors: Cumming
authors: Maryanne
authors: M
authors: Garry
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
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