A comprehensive meta-analysis of money priming

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Money priming research explores how money-related stimuli impact cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior.
• A comprehensive meta-analysis was needed to synthesize existing money priming evidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess publication bias in money priming literature.
• To derive a bias-corrected effect size estimate.
• To investigate moderators like prime type and study setting.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of published and unpublished studies.
• Meta-analysis of 246 experiments.
• Statistical tests for publication bias (e.g., Egger's test).
• Moderator analyses to examine design factor influences.

Main Results:

• A significant overall effect size (Hedges' g = .31) was found.
• Evidence suggests the presence of publication bias and related biases.
• The largest effects were observed in lab studies using active money handling.

Conclusions:

• Money priming effects are present but potentially inflated by bias.
• Study design, particularly active money handling in lab settings, influences effect size.
• Future research should prioritize preregistered, adequately powered studies.