Against the resampling account of replication.

Abstract

Edouard Machery's article "What is Replication?" deserves particular critical attention. For if it is correct, his Resampling Account of Replication has the power to reshape the current debate on replication in psychology. Indeed, with his new proposal, philosopher Machery claims to replace the "vague characterization of replication in psychology" (Machery, 2020, p. 559) with an account that deflates one of the central debates on replication-the debate which contraposes direct and conceptual replications and asks which one is preferable. In this commentary, I argue that there are deep-rooted reasons for why the distinction is meaningful, and that the Resampling Account of Replication just offers a misleading "semantic shift." Public Significance StatementThis commentary argues against the resampling account of replication proposed in Machery (2020) and reflects on the significance of the distinction between direct and conceptual replication, which is common lore in psychology. The discussion offered in this contribution may lead to advances in the understanding of the functions and value of replication in psychology.

In defense of the resampling account of replication.

“…Matarese agrees with Machery that the direct–conceptual distinction should not be interpreted in terms of which component is resampled (Matarese, 2022, p. 3). However, Matarese argues that Machery was too quick to abolish the direct–conceptual distinction because there remains an interpretation that is useful.…”

“…Matarese does consider this response, but she argues against it because conceptual replications and extensions do not mean the same thing. In particular, conceptual replications are supposed to test the same hypothesis as the original study, while extensions test a different (often generalized) version of the original study’s hypothesis (Matarese, 2022, p. 7). However, recall that Matarese’s interpretation of conceptual replications is that they involve changed independent or dependent variables.…”

“…Matarese (2022) argued in a commentary that Machery’s (2020) resampling account of replication (RAR) is unsatisfactory because it was too quick to abolish the distinction between direct and conceptual replications. Although Matarese agrees with Machery that some interpretations of conceptual replications are misconceived, she offers an interpretation which purports to show that direct and conceptual replications have different functions, and this justifies preserving the distinction.…”