A Multi-Lab Registered Replication and Extension of IJzerman et al. (2012): Social exclusion leads to lower peripheral temperatures

Abstract

We aim to replicate a study by IJzerman et al. (2012), which concluded that the experimental condition of social exclusion (vs. inclusion) in the Cyberball computer game decreases peripheral index finger temperature, but did so at 67.2% power (N=41), in a single lab in a colder country (the Netherlands), yet concluded generalizability. The study received considerable news coverage (e.g., in the New York Times) and is well-cited (223 at the time of writing). We seek to overcome the limitations of the previous study by conducting a highly-powered replication of the effect (projected minimum N=500) in 8 different countries in 3 different climatic regions (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, France, Turkey, Singapore, Nigeria, and Poland). We also extended the study by measuring body parts other than the index finger (pinky finger, supraclavicular, and wrist) and measured a selection of questionnaires that have been shown to be of relevance for social thermoregulatory mechanisms. Given the considerable power of the study and the inclusion of different climatic regions, these extensions can advance theory on social thermoregulation in various important ways.