Why Don’t You Take a Leaf Out of Her Book? An Experiment on Social Search

Last registered on December 21, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Why Don’t You Take a Leaf Out of Her Book? An Experiment on Social Search
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012629
Initial registration date
December 19, 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
December 21, 2023, 8:00 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Italy
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Michela Boldrini
Affiliation
Bocconi University, IGIER and RFF-CMCC EIEE
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Maria Bigoni
PI Affiliation
University of Bologna, CEPR and IZA
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PI Name
Niccolò Lomys
PI Affiliation
CSEF and Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
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PI Name
Emanuele Tarantino
PI Affiliation
Luiss University, EIEF and CEPR
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-12-22
End date
2024-01-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Sequential Search; Multi-Armed Bandits; Individual Decision Making; Social Information; Reputation;
JEL code(s)
D8; C9; D1;
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We propose an experimental analysis to investigate the impact of social learning on individuals’ acquisition of information before making a choice and how behavioral biases and the perceived reliability of the information source affect this process.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bigoni, Maria et al. 2023. "Why Don’t You Take a Leaf Out of Her Book? An Experiment on Social Search." AEA RCT Registry. December 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12629-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The experiment aims to explore the impact of social learning on the information acquisition process and on the choices made by individuals who must choose from a set of alternative options with unknown values. In a sequential search framework, in which first and second movers face the same decision environment, we exogenously manipulate the availability of social information and the presence of reputational mechanisms, allowing second movers to identify which reliable first movers to follow.
Intervention Start Date
2023-12-22
Intervention End Date
2024-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Individual search behavior and frequency of optimal search choices, as defined by the theoretical predictions derived from the model
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In a between-subjects design, we exogenously vary: i) whether second movers can observe the choices made by one of the first movers who faced the same decision environment, and ii) the presence of reputational mechanisms allowing second movers to identify which reliable first movers to follow.
More precisely, conditional on having access to some social information, we manipulate - in a 2x2 factorial design - whether second movers can choose which first mover to observe from and the availability of reputational information on first movers.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Experimental sessions' randomization into treatments is done in office by a computer.
Upon registration, participants are assigned to one of the experimental sessions: subjects enrolled in the first (scheduled) experimental session are assigned to the benchmark treatment, in which participants make choices in isolation, in the absence of social information; subjects enrolled in any of the following experimental sessions are randomly assigned to one of the four social information treatment conditions.
Randomization Unit
Experimental sessions; within each session, participants are further randomly assigned by the computer software oTree (used to program the experiment) into five groups, numbered I to V, of four participants each: all participants belonging to the same group - irrespective of the treatment condition - are exposed to the same set of alternative options in the same order.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
25 Groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
100 Participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
20 Participants (5 Groups) per 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
Bocconi Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-27
IRB Approval Number
27072023-101350 (SA000643)
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