The Coarseness of Moral Language - Perceptions

Last registered on October 04, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Coarseness of Moral Language - Perceptions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011474
Initial registration date
May 24, 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
October 04, 2023, 12:48 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Friederike Reichel
Affiliation
LMU München
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-05-25
End date
2023-08-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
This experimental project studies perceptions on how the coarseness of moral categories affects moral behavior. Perceptions will be compared with actual data from a previous experiment (pre-registered as The Coarseness of Moral Language). The focus will be on the accuracy of people’s perceptions and the amount of information lost due to potential misperceptions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Reichel, Friederike. 2023. "The Coarseness of Moral Language - Perceptions." AEA RCT Registry. October 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11474-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-05-25
Intervention End Date
2023-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
For each subject, I will calculate the perceived frequency of both the Diluting Effect (DE) and the Purifying Effect (PE) as defined in the previous study (pre-registered as The Coarseness of Moral Language). Denote these perceived frequencies by de and pe. I will also calculate the ratio de/pe for each subject and compare it to the actual ratio DE/PE emerging from the original data set.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
I will calculate the perceived average action under each of the two treatment conditions of the original study.
For each subject, I will compute the perceived decrease in actions associated with the Diluting Effect and the increase in actions associated with the Purifying Effect.
Share: For each subject, I will compute the perceived share of participants choosing an action lower than the threshold action under the treatment condition for which they have to make their predictions.
Additional share: For each subject, I will compute the perceived additional share of participants choosing an action lower than the threshold action under the treatment condition for which they have to make their predictions compared to the treatment condition they base their predictions on.
Information loss: Following the approach outlined in Braghieri (2023), I will estimate the information loss on the natural action due to misperceptions on the mapping of actions from one treatment condition to the other. For this exercise, I will assume that subjects know the distribution of natural actions of the original experiment and the joint distribution of natural actions and actions under the condition that they base their predictions on.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computerized randomization
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
180 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
180 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
90 individuals by treatment arm
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 LMU Department of Economics
IRB Approval Date
2022-11-04
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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