Abstract: Scientific psychology not only needs to explore the factors influencing and altering human psychology and behavior through rigorous research designs, but also needs to compare the relative effects of multiple candidate experimental conditions or interventions within a unified framework. The recently emerging megastudy approach can simultaneously test the effects of many theory or practice-based interventions or experimental conditions on the same outcome variable(s) within a single study. It offers higher ecological validity, inter-study comparability, and policy persuasiveness, and can mitigate publication bias while accelerating scientific discovery efficiency. To better facilitate the accelerated evolution of scientific psychology, megastudy researchers need also address challenges such as the high cost, management complexity, and limits in exploring mechanisms, while adopting strategies that integrate with classic experimental paradigms and AI technologies, and conduct organized large-scale scientific research collaboration.

Key words: megastudy, experimental paradigm, ecological validity, inter-study comparability, policy persuasiveness