PONE-D-19-25949

Individual differences in personality predict the use and perceived effectiveness of essential oils

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr Chopik,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please address the issues raised by Reviewer 2.

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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2. In the abstract, for clarify and considering the wide PLOS ONE readership, please update the sentence in the Abstract reading "We found that bullshit receptivity and religiosity..." to "We found that receptivity to pseudo-profound fabricated statements and religiosity..."

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Very good study. Explanation given was extraordinary. Research and publication ethics was satisfied. Given great introduction about the topic. Results were greatly explained in graph. Discussion part can improve better.

Reviewer #2: The analysis is straightforward enough, at least in terms of the regression methods and scales applied. (I've taught that for three decades.) Where the problem lies is in the author's lack of transparency and critical thinking as to how this issue was conceptualized in the first place. There is now a growing body of evidence, which the author conveniently ignores, in the medical and social sciences indicating that persons who are religious, or spiritual (not necessarily the same thing) in their orientation tend to have better medical outcomes, live longer, and are happier than those who are more skeptical and/or atheistic. As most practicing physicians are aware, the 'power of belief' in something, independent of its demonstrable scientific verifiability, sometimes sets in motion psycho-physiological processes (e.g. stress reduction) that can result in improved health. That we do not yet sufficiently understand how (what BSR scale proponents narrowly characterize as 'bullshit') works does not mean that the (seemingly irrational) rituals such as EO are entirely without value.

Unfortunately this article gives the reader the impression that it has a preexisting agenda to discredit complimentary and integrative medical approaches, particularly in its choice of the conceptually-biased BSR measure, and religiosity rather than a broader measure of spirituality. At minimum, the literature review and discussion sections need to acknowlege, not just the literatures of their preferred paradigm, but also of the paradigm one finds reflected e.g. in scientific articles in European Journal of Integrative Medicine.

Minor correction...

lines 48-49 should read

48 antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, and antiplaque/antigingivitic properties, as

49 well //as// their performance as an effective insect repellant (4-10).

lines 59-60 should read

59 A separate but related question //as// to whether or not EOs provide marked health benefits is

60 whether people perceive benefits of EO use. Further, it is likely that some individuals are more

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Individual differences in personality predict the use and perceived effectiveness of essential oils

PONE-D-19-25949R1

Dear Dr Chopik,

We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it complies with all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you will receive an e-mail containing information on the amendments required prior to publication. When all required modifications have been addressed, you will receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will proceed to our production department and be scheduled for publication.

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With kind regards,

Rosemary Frey

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #2: No