Schedule of Events | Symposia

Sketchpad Series

Revisiting Defensive Motivation and the Error-Related Negativity: A Multi-Site Replication Study

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Amy Bland¹ (a.bland@mmu.ac.uk); ¹Manchester Metropolitan University

The Error-Related Negativity (ERN), a well-studied event-related potential, is implicated in error processing and is thought to be modulated by emotional and motivational factors. Hajcak and Foti (2008) demonstrated that errors elicit increased defensive reactivity, as indicated by potentiated startle responses, and that the magnitude of the ERN predicts individual differences in this reactivity. As part of #EEGManyLabs, a project addressing the replication crisis through a rigorous, multi-site international collaboration, we are testing the replicability of the results from Hajcak and Foti’s influential study. Our study involving eight laboratories across the UK, USA, Germany, France, and Belgium closely adheres to the original study’s methods, employing standardised EEG and startle response protocols. The primary hypotheses test whether (1) ERN magnitude predicts startle potentiation following errors and (2) startle responses are greater following errors compared to correct responses. A meta-analytic approach will integrate data across sites to estimate effect sizes and assess the replicability of these findings. By collecting data from a global sample, this replication aims to strengthen the evidence base for the relationship between the ERN and defensive reactivity and inform its potential utility in clinical and theoretical applications. We are actively recruiting labs to join our replication, particularly from low-middle-income countries. Expanding participation to underrepresented regions will increase the diversity of our data and generalizability of the findings therefore interested researchers are encouraged to contact the project team to join this collaborative effort.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Emotional responding