Big secrets do not necessarily cause hills to appear steeper.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• The "secret burdensomeness" phenomenon suggests significant secrets create a feeling of being weighed down.
• Embodied cognition theories propose physical metaphors for abstract concepts, like secrets impacting spatial perception.
• Independent direct replications are crucial for scientific self-correction and validating findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct high-powered, preregistered direct replications of Slepian et al.'s (2012) Study 1 on secret burdensomeness.
• To investigate the replicability of the finding that recalling significant secrets increases perceived hill steepness.
• To assess the robustness of the embodied cognition interpretation of secret burdensomeness.

Main Methods:

• Two large-scale, preregistered studies were conducted, meticulously adhering to the original study's methodology.
• Participants recalled and wrote about either a significant secret or an inconsequential secret.
• Perceived steepness of a pictured hill was measured, alongside control estimates unrelated to physical effort.

Main Results:

• Neither of the high-powered replication studies successfully reproduced the finding that recalling significant secrets increases perceived hill steepness.
• Estimates of physical effort were unaffected in both replication studies, consistent with the original study's findings.
• The core finding of Slepian et al. (2012) was not corroborated.

Conclusions:

• The "secret burdensomeness" phenomenon, as initially reported, may not be a reliable effect.
• Further independent replications are necessary to validate the phenomenon before it can inform psychological theory or health interventions.
• The findings highlight the importance of rigorous replication in establishing the generalizability of psychological effects.