Wanting to be part - the effect of partial identity disclosure on conforming behavior

Last registered on February 02, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Wanting to be part - the effect of partial identity disclosure on conforming behavior
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011585
Initial registration date
July 03, 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
July 10, 2023, 9:00 PM EDT

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

Last updated
February 02, 2024, 9:18 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Johanna Berensmeyer
Affiliation
Universität Paderborn
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Wendelin Schnedler
PI Affiliation
Universität Paderborn
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-07-10
End date
2023-08-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In our everyday lives, we often tend to conform to the opinions and decisions of others. A potential reason may be that we are afraid of how we will be perceived by others if we make a decision contrary to the majority and no longer be seen as part of the community. Are we more inclined to agree with the decision of others when our own decision can be associated to us?
To answer these question, we investigate the influence of public disclosure and identity revelation of one's own decision on conformity behavior. We conduct a lab experiment to explore whether individuals are more prone to follow the decisions of others when their own choices are subsequently made public.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Berensmeyer, Johanna and Wendelin Schnedler. 2024. "Wanting to be part - the effect of partial identity disclosure on conforming behavior ." AEA RCT Registry. February 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11585-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-10
Intervention End Date
2023-07-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Share of subjects who conform to the rest of the group when it comes to a risk choice.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Number of decisions' of others consulted
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment is conducted as a lab experiment.

The experiment has three rounds. In each round, subjects make a choice, consult the choices of other participants and can adjust their choice. The choices from the first round are discarded. This round is only intended for the subject to familiarize herself with the structure of the rounds. The primary outcome is the choice in the second round. In this round, the options are a ticket for a fair lottery paying 12€ or 0€ with equal probaility and a fixed payment of 5€. If a subject in this round consults the choices of others, she will be shown three choices from subjects that are different from her own. The subject can then adjust her choice. After the choice is finally logged in,
the cubicle numbers that are associated with respective choices are displayed in the PUBLIC treatment. In the PRIVATE treatment, the subject does not learn these numbers. In the third round, subjects make another decision on whether to keep money or pass on more money, this decision is also not analyzed.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The two groups PRIVATE and PUBLIC are randomly distributed across the different experimental sessions. The randomization is done by a computer program.
Randomization Unit
experimental sessions
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We plan to run six experimental sessions using the server and subject pool from the Business and Economic Research Laboratory (BaER-Lab) at the University of Paderborn.
Sample size: planned number of observations
120 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
60 students private
60 students public
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
In an earlier experiment with more potential channels but the same question, we observed 36% of conformism. Since PRIVATE has less operational channels, this yields an upper bound. The minimal detectable effect size would then be a proportion of 60% in the public treatment, which represents a doubling of the share of conforming subjects or 20 percentage points.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
GfeW - German Association for Experimental Economic Research
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-03
IRB Approval Number
N/A6ZqyiNJH
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
July 11, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
4 sessions
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
65 subjects
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
31 subjects in Public treatment 34 subjects in Private treatment
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials