Laundering the people instead of the money An experimental study on the effect of mental money laundering

Last registered on September 14, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Laundering the people instead of the money An experimental study on the effect of mental money laundering
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012032
Initial registration date
September 05, 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
September 14, 2023, 12:42 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Alexandra Seidel
Affiliation
Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-09-07
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
mental accounting, antisocial, experiment
JEL code(s)
C72, C91, D91
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Since the introduction of mental accounting, there have been numerous studies finding that the source of money might influence the way this money is spent. This includes cleaning unethically earned money by laundering it, if given the possibility to do so. This study investigates whether participants donate a different amount of money when the person they lied to in a deception game is present or absent.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Seidel, Alexandra. 2023. "Laundering the people instead of the money An experimental study on the effect of mental money laundering." AEA RCT Registry. September 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12032-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Basis treatment:
Participants will be matched in groups of two. They will then play the decpetion game as Gneezy and Erat (2012) proposed (the senders can choose one out of ten messages to send to the receiver).
After the deception game, both partners will decide if and how much of their earnings they will donate to a charity organisation (partners setting). The donations will be recorded separately and then added up to a group donation.
Switch treatment:
The procedure is the same as in the basis but the groups will be re-matched right before the donation decision stage (strangers setting).
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-24
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
donation behaviour (especially of senders)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
I compare the donation behaviour of persons that donate together with a person they might feel guilty with to the behaviour of those that decide together with a new person.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
correlation between donation behaviour, possible guilt and socio-economic parameters as well as the dark triad
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Subjects for the laboratory experiment are recruited electronically from the university's subject pool and are randomly assigned to one of two treatments.
Basis: Participants will be matched in groups of two. They will then play the decpetion game as Gneezy and Erat (2012) proposed (the senders can choose one out of ten messages to send to the receiver).
After the deception game, both partners will decide if and how much of their earnings they will donate to a charity organisation (partners). The donations will be recorded separately and then added up to a group donation.
In the switch treatment, the procedure is the same as in the basis but the groups will be re-matched right before the donation decision stage (strangers).
Socio-economic and individual attitude parameters are collected as correlates. Subjects are anonymously paid a show-up fee plus their earnings from the experiment in cash before leaving the laboratory.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Subjects are recruited electronically and randomly assigned to the treatments.
Randomization Unit
Individual subjects are randomly assigned to the treatments.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
96 groups of two
Sample size: planned number of observations
192 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
48 groups of two in the basis treatment, 48 groups of two in the switch 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
Gesellschaft für experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung (GfeW)
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-04
IRB Approval Number
fqYDV9F1
Analysis Plan