Personal Information and Behavior

Last registered on June 13, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Personal Information and Behavior
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011426
Initial registration date
May 15, 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
May 17, 2023, 2:56 PM EDT

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

Last updated
June 13, 2023, 8:56 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Syon Bhanot
Affiliation
Swarthmore College
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-05-15
End date
2023-07-21
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This is a study about how disclosure of personal information influences behavior in a standard experimental economics game measuring altruism (namely, the dictator game).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bhanot, Syon. 2023. "Personal Information and Behavior." AEA RCT Registry. June 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11426-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-05-15
Intervention End Date
2023-07-21

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Altruistic behavior (as measured by amount transferred in the dictator game).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
In each game, an amount between $3-7 will be up for distribution in the dictator game (we vary the amount across games to prevent people from just defaulting into giving the same proportion easily every time). The amount the subject agrees to transfer to a given partner will be converted into a percent, and the percent will be used in the analysis.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Perceptions of partners.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We ask subjects to evaluate their partners ex post, and in particular to let us know what they think the other person's political identity is. This will allow us to conduct analysis on perceptions of their partners based on what their partners were willing to share.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will use an online survey platform to obtain and recruit a representative sample of Americans. They will be paired with another subject (their "partner" for this game, who is an individual who already completed a presurvey), and we will vary what is disclosed to them about their partner. They will then play the dictator game asynchronously with that other subject. They will then be repaired and this play will continue with up to 12 distinct partners. We will then ask some survey questions and demographic questions.
Experimental Design Details
The crucial aspect of the intervention has to do with the optional vs required disclosure of pronoun information. In the presurvey, recruited subjects were asked to voluntarily disclose information about themselves to a hypothetical other individual. "Your pronoun" was part of the suggested prompt but it was not required. On the next screen, we required pronoun disclosure. So entering this study we have information of presurvey subjects' decisions when asked to voluntarily disclose their pronouns AND when required to disclose their pronouns.

In the main part of this study, we vary whether subjects are shown their partners' VOLUNTARY responses on pronouns or their REQUIRED response. We show each subject multiple "partners" so we can track their behavior towards a variety of subjects with different pronouns and different levels of (voluntary) disclosure.
Randomization Method
Randomization automated through Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1 cluster (no clustering)
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000 individual subjects recruited online through survey platform/partner.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
500 control, 500 treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Swarthmore College IRB
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-31
IRB Approval Number
IRB-FY22-23-33
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