Is the replication crisis worst in psychology or medicine?

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Short answer

Quantitatively, psychology shows the lowest large-scale replication rate that has actually been measured (about one-third of tested findings replicated) [1]. Medicine (especially biomedicine) certainly suffers from fraud and non-reproducible results, but the available evidence is more fragmentary; there is no single field-wide replication study of comparable scope. Consequently, most commentators accept that the replication crisis is currently better documented—and appears numerically worse—in psychology, while agreeing that certain sub-fields of medicine (e.g., Alzheimer’s research) may harbour equally serious problems.

What the main sources say

• The Open Science Collaboration’s 2015 project replicated 100 high-profile psychology papers and reproduced only 36 % of the original significant results [1].

• The “Unsafe Science” analysis argues that, once publication bias is taken into account, roughly 75 % of psychology claims are likely false, framing psychology as “ground zero” of the crisis [2].

• Michael Inzlicht’s 2024 essay focuses on stereotype-threat research; he concludes that the effect is “less robust than believed,” but stresses that some psychological constructs do survive replication attempts, suggesting the situation is “serious yet salvageable” [4].

• In medicine, the 2025 New York Times op-ed chronicles alleged data fabrication in Alzheimer’s amyloid-beta studies, contending that years of drug-development resources were misdirected as a result [3].

• Vox’s 2024 feature gathers estimates that fraudulent or irreproducible biomedical findings contribute to treatment delays and avoidable deaths, but offers no systematic replication percentage comparable to the psychology figure [5].

Are the views consistent?

They converge on the claim that both fields have serious reliability issues, but differ in emphasis. Sources [1], [2], and [4] document psychology’s low replication rates. Sources [3] and [5] argue that medicine’s stakes are higher (patient harm, billions in costs) even if the measured replication failure rate is not yet pinned down. No source provides evidence that medicine as a whole replicates worse than psychology; rather, the claim is that its failures are more consequential.

Factors that make psychology look worse

• Abundant field-wide audits (e.g., 2015 Science project) produce hard numbers [1].

• Experiments are often small-sample, low-power, and easier to redo quickly, revealing problems faster [2].

• Publication incentives once favoured surprising results; the discipline now publicly tracks corrections and retractions [4].

Factors that obscure medicine’s true rate

• Clinical trials are costlier and take years, so systematic replications are rare.

• Regulatory oversight (FDA, EMA, etc.) enforces certain standards, potentially boosting replicability, but also concentrates efforts on late-stage trials that may hide earlier basic-science flaws [5].

• High-profile fraud cases (e.g., Alzheimer’s amyloid imaging) attract media coverage without providing denominator data for the field at large [3].

Public discourse timeline

2011–2014 Psychology begins adopting preregistration and open-data norms following several high-profile failed replications (not detailed in current sources).

2015 Publication of the Open Science Collaboration study quantifies the problem in psychology (36 % replication rate) [1].

2017–2020 Replication efforts expand to economics, social priming, and some biomedical niches; no medicine-wide project yet.

2024 Michael Inzlicht’s pre-print calls for a “reckoning” but also reform optimism in social psychology [4].    Vox article publicises the human toll of biomedical fraud, pushing the crisis narrative beyond psychology [5].

2025 New York Times op-ed links alleged image manipulation in landmark Alzheimer’s studies to stalled drug development, intensifying concern inside medicine [3].

Bottom line

With systematic audits showing only ~35 % replication success, psychology presently exhibits the clearest and worst-documented replication crisis. Medicine’s crisis is better described as potentially just as serious, but still less quantified; notable fraud cases and the high cost of irreproducibility keep the issue in the spotlight. Future large-scale replication projects in clinical and pre-clinical medicine will be needed before a definitive comparison is possible.

Sources

1. Estimating the Reproducibility of Psychological Science – Science (2015 peer-reviewed replication study)
2. ~75 % of Psychology Claims Are False – Unsafe Science (Substack) (Opinion / Replication-crisis analysis)
3. The Long Shadow of Fraud in Alzheimer’s Research – The New York Times (2025 Opinion / Op-Ed)
4. Revisiting Stereotype Threat: A Reckoning for Social Psychology – Michael Inzlicht (2024 pre-print PDF; Scholarly essay)
5. The Staggering Death Toll of Scientific Lies – Vox (2024 explanatory / analysis article)

Question

Is the replication crisis worst in psychology or medicine?