Group Image Concerns: Online study (3 domains)

Last registered on March 13, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Group Image Concerns: Online study (3 domains)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011027
Initial registration date
March 07, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 13, 2023, 3:02 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Arno Apffelstaedt
Affiliation
University of Cologne
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Gönül Dogan
PI Affiliation
University of Cologne
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Fabian Hoffmann
PI Affiliation
University of Cologne
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-03-15
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
image concerns, group behavior
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We run online experiments to measure the size of group image concerns in three different domains.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Apffelstaedt, Arno, Gönül Dogan and Fabian Hoffmann. 2023. "Group Image Concerns: Online study (3 domains)." AEA RCT Registry. March 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11027-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
We measure group image concerns for three different domains separately using 3 separate experiments, each of which has two treatment arms (i.e., two interventions): a (1) private treatment and a (2) public treatment. In the private treatments, participants make decisions knowing that their group identity and their behavior/performance are anonymous and cannot be observed by others. In the public treatments, participants are informed that their behavior/performance may be publicly announced alongside their group identity to all other participants of the study. That is, the intervention changes whether or not the behavior/performance of the individual can affect the group's public image.
Intervention Start Date
2023-03-15
Intervention End Date
2023-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
There are 3 domains, for which we collect data in 3 separate experiments: (i) Generosity (ii) Intelligence (iii) Patriotism. Below, we provide the primary outcomes for each domain. For detail see experimental design.

(i) Primary outcomes for Generosity domain: (1) Amount of money donated, (2) Willingness-to-pay to avoid publicity of group outcomes

(ii) Primary outcomes for Intelligence domain: (1) Number of Raven-like matrices correctly solved, (2) Time spent solving matrices, (3) Willingness-to-pay to avoid publicity of group outcomes

(iii) Primary outcomes for Patriotism domain: (1) Number of attempts at corrections and number of correctly identified mistakes in the U.S. national anthem, (2) Time spent finding mistakes, (3) Willingness-to-pay to avoid publicity of group outcomes
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We run online experiments with U.S. Americans. We examine the extent to which individuals adapt their behavior when their behavior affects the image of their in-group. There are three domains in which we will elicit group image concerns: generosity, perceived general intelligence, and patriotism.
Experimental Design Details
We run online experiments with U.S. Americans. We examine the extent to which individuals adapt their behavior when their behavior affects the image of their in-group. There are three domains in which we will elicit group image concerns: generosity, perceived general intelligence, and patriotism. In the domain of generosity, we invoke group identity in relation to religion and examine how donation behavior is affected when information about the religion of a participant is published along with the participant's anonymized donation. In the domain of intelligence, we invoke group identity in relation to university affiliation and examine how performance on an "intelligence test" is affected when information about which university the participant attends is published along with the participant's anonymized performance. In the domain of patriotism, we invoke group identity in relation to political parties (Republican or Democrat) and examine how performance in finding mistakes in the U.S. national anthem is affected when information about the party affiliation of a participant is published along with the participant's anonymized performance.

We measure group image concerns for each domain separately using 3 separate experiments, each of which has two treatment arms (i.e., two interventions): a (1) private treatment and a (2) public treatment. In the private treatments, participants make decisions knowing that their group identity and their behavior/performance are anonymous and cannot be observed by others. In the public treatments, participants are informed that their behavior/performance may be publicly announced alongside their group identity to all other participants of the study. That is, the intervention changes whether or not the behavior/performance of the individual can affect the group's public image.

In the generosity domain, we implement the two treatments in a within-subject design. That is, each participant takes part in both the private and public treatments in a random order. The order of the treatments will be determined randomly for each individual subject by a computerized random draw. In the generosity domain, we will collect a total of 100 observations (100 individual participants).

In the intelligence and patriotism domains, we implement the two treatments in a between-subjects design. This means that each participant is randomly assigned to take part in either only the private treatment or only the public treatment. Assignment to the treatments will be randomized within a session by a computerized draw. In the intelligence and patriotism domains, we will collect a total of 100 observations per treatment, i.e., 200 individual participants per domain.
Randomization Method
Random draw done by a computer (for detail see experimental design)
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500 individuals (for detail see experimental design)
Sample size: planned number of observations
500 individuals (for detail see experimental design)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Cologne
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-03
IRB Approval Number
230009FH
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials