BigTeamScience

About Me

Since 2022, I have been leading a large, cross-cultural, multi-center behavioral study investigating self-other distinction in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This preregistered study (OSF Preregistration) is currently in its final phase, and we are proud to report that we have gathered data from 140 BPD patients and 50 healthy controls (data collection ongoing) across Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the United States. Our objective is to gain a nuanced understanding of self-other distinction in BPD, ultimately contributing to the development of evidence-based interventions.

• Check our project’s webpage https://self-other.univie.ac.at/
• And our annual workshop’s page on social cognition https://www.self-knowing-others.org/

Recently, I gave a pitch on “Revolutionizing Clinical Psychology through Big Team Science” at the open stage for innovative ideas at the International Forum on Clinical Research 2024 organized by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Vienna, Austria.

I am committed to fostering a culture of big team science in clinical psychology, promoting large-scale collaborations to advance the field. For inquiries or updates on the project, please feel free to reach out to me ekaterina.pronizius@univie.ac.at.

My Work with Big Team Science Projects

Over the years, I have become an active member of several Big Team Science (BTS) initiatives, which are uniquely positioned to tackle critical challenges in empirical research, such as increasing diversity, improving research transparency, and amplifying scientific rigor. These initiatives are instrumental in advancing collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable scientific practices.

I am particularly committed to my work with the Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA), where I first began my journey with Big Team Science. The PSA is a global network conducting large-scale, cross-cultural studies and has established itself as a leading advocate for distributed, diverse, and inclusive research practices. Since 2022, I have served as the Assistant Director of Data and Methods, focusing on optimizing data quality and methodological rigor in cross-cultural research. As of 2024, I am honored to hold the position of Associate Director at the PSA. Through this role, I contribute to the PSA’s mission of building robust, reproducible science. For more information on PSA’s work, please visit Psychological Science Accelerator.

Some of our output:

• Vaidis, D. C., Miranda, J. F., Buchanan, E. M., Schmidt, K., Yang, Y., Kowal, M., … Pronizius, E. (2024). The Advantage of Big Team Science: Lessons Learned from Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/yvm5h
• Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., ... Lamm, C., Pronizius, E., ..., & Sirota, M. To which world regions does the valence-dominance model of social perception apply? Nature human behaviour, 5(1), 159-169. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01007-2

In addition to my work with the PSA, I was a Research Assistant in the ManyLab project, "International Collaboration to Understand Climate Action", led by Prof. Madalina Vlasceanu, Dr. Kimberly Doell, and Prof. Jay J. Van Bavel. This project seeks to bring diverse, cross-cultural insights into climate action behaviors and attitudes, contributing to our understanding of global perspectives on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Learn more about this important initiative here: ManyLabs Climate Action.

• Vlasceanu*, M., Doell*, K. C., Bak-Coleman*, J., ..., Pronizius, E., ..., & Van Bavel, J. J. Addressing Climate Change with Behavioral Science: A Global Intervention Tournament in 63 Countries. Science Advances, 10, eadj5778. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

Additional Involvements in Big Team Science Initiatives

My commitment to collaborative research extends to several other influential BTS projects, each focusing on distinct aspects of behavioral science, developmental psychology, and global collaboration:

• Many Babies Project: This initiative is dedicated to conducting cross-cultural studies to understand universal and culturally specific developmental milestones across diverse populations. By examining cognitive and perceptual development in infants, the Many Babies Project contributes to a richer understanding of early development worldwide. Learn more about the Many Babies Project.
• The ManyManys: As a member of this emerging initiative, I am working to build a comprehensive network that unites various BTS teams across multiple disciplines. The ManyManys will develop and implement innovative tasks to measure, describe, and compare different phenomenon across animal taxa. While many of them, such as reversal learning, have been investigated in numerous species, each study has typically focused on one at a time. ManyManys will collect data from a wide range of taxa in a single study. Discover more about the ManyManys.

Broader Collaborations and BTS Initiatives

In addition to my core research projects, I am involved in several other BTS initiatives that emphasize the values of open science, reproducibility, and inclusive research practices, which I am deeply passionate about:

• FORRT (Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training): FORRT is dedicated to advancing open and reproducible science through training and education. It provides researchers and educators with resources to incorporate open science principles into their work, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability in research. Explore the FORRT Initiative.
• Many Primates: This collaborative project involves researchers investigating primate behavior and cognition across species and regions, broadening our understanding of evolutionary patterns and behavioral diversity. Many Primates Initiative.

Annual Big Team Science Conference

Since 2022, the Big Team Science (BTS) Conference has become a key event for researchers dedicated to advancing collaborative, open science practices. Each year, this conference brings together scientists from diverse fields to discuss innovative approaches, share findings, and build networks that can drive impactful, interdisciplinary research. The conference exemplifies the BTS mission of fostering large-scale collaboration and creating inclusive spaces for scientific discourse. Check out the BTS Conference.

Through these roles and initiatives, I remain dedicated to expanding the potential of Big Team Science to shape a more inclusive and impactful scientific community. I am excited to continue contributing to BTS’s mission of addressing some of the most complex research questions that are often unattainable within smaller, isolated research teams. Stay tuned for updates on my work and ongoing developments in BTS initiatives—there’s much more to come!