meta-analysis
Definition
Meta-analysis is a quantitative method for statistically synthesising results across multiple primary studies, producing pooled effect size estimates and examining sources of variability in those effects. Its conclusions are bounded by the literature it draws on: a meta-analysis of acculturation outcomes, for instance, cannot transcend the binary operationalizations or migrant-focused samples that predominate in the primary studies it aggregates. The method can also be applied at different levels of analysis, and conflating individual-level interactions with study-level moderations represents a fundamental misuse of meta-analytical findings. When the hypothesis under investigation is itself interactional, the choice of analytic approach matters considerably: bivariate approximations of integration effects yielded inflated correlations of roughly r = .13 to .16, whereas a multivariate test controlling for main effects produced a near-zero interaction (f2 < .009) across two datasets totalling N = 7,512. In a different domain, a multilevel meta-analytic review of 54 samples (N = 33,814) found that intellectual humility was associated with lower misinformation receptivity, with effect sizes varying systematically by how the construct was measured and what type of misinformation was examined.
Sources: Bierwiaczonek (2025), Vu & Bierwiaczonek (2025), Bowes & Fazio (2024)
Related Terms
- acculturation (2 shared articles)
- integration hypothesis (2 shared articles)
- cross-cultural adaptation (2 shared articles)
- misinformation (1 shared article)
- intellectual humility (1 shared article)
- methodologies (1 shared article)
Applications
Meta-analysis and Integration Hypothesis
The integration hypothesis proposes that simultaneous high engagement with both heritage and mainstream cultures produces better adaptation outcomes than engagement with either culture alone, making it inherently an interaction hypothesis that requires a multivariate test. Past meta-analyses used bivariate approximations, such as summative scores, multiplicative scores, Euclidean distance, and midpoint splits, all of which conflate the main effect of mainstream culture orientation with a genuine interaction effect and thus cannot be considered accurate evaluations of the hypothesis. Reanalysis showed that predicting adaptation with mainstream culture orientation alone explains approximately as much variance as a model including both orientations and their interaction term, indicating that the positive effects previously attributed to integration are driven primarily by mainstream culture orientation.
Sources: Vu & Bierwiaczonek (2025), Bierwiaczonek (2025)
Meta-analysis and Intellectual Humility
A multilevel meta-analytic review established that intellectual humility is negatively related to misinformation receptivity across beliefs, intentions, and behaviors, with the strongest association observed for behaviors moving people away from misinformation (r = .30). Moderator analyses indicated that effect sizes were larger when intellectual humility was measured with comprehensive instruments capturing metacognitive, relational, and emotional features, rather than narrow measures focused solely on metacognition.
Sources: Bowes & Fazio (2024)
Meta-analysis and Effect Heterogeneity
Heterogeneity in meta-analytically pooled effects reflects genuine variability in the phenomenon across studies and contexts, and identifying its sources is a primary analytic goal. In acculturation research, a reanalysis disentangling four levels of effect variability found that country-level factors account for no more than approximately 15% of heterogeneity in integration effects, while methodological factors within studies account for up to 53.38% and between-study or between-group variation accounts for up to 27.84%. In the intellectual humility literature, moderator analyses similarly revealed that the type of misinformation and the operationalization of the construct each explained meaningful portions of the variance in effect sizes across studies.
Sources: Bierwiaczonek (2025), Bowes & Fazio (2024)
