How does the choice of displayed gender impact wagę negotiations

Last registered on March 06, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How does the choice of displayed gender impact wagę negotiations
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013072
Initial registration date
February 20, 2024

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
March 06, 2024, 3:02 PM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Chian Jones Ritten
Affiliation
university of wyoming
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Linda Thunstrom
PI Affiliation
University of Wyoming

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-09-11
End date
2024-02-29
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
Gender, negotiation behavior, gender identification
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Previous research shows that men tend to outperform women during negotiations. Societal expectations about how women and men should behave during negotiations may help explain this outcome. Research has also found that individual behavior is influenced by the embodiment of a gender different from ones own identity. Specifically, women embodying a male avatar were found to be more sensitive to immediate rewards, which may translate into more aggressive negotiation behavior than when embodying a female avatar. To determine the influence of gender avatar embodiment in negotiations, we create an online laboratory experiment where individuals choose their gender avatar to be displayed to a negotiation partner. We test whether those individuals who choose an avatar that is different from their true identity have different negotiation behavior and outcomes than those that choose their true gender avatar.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jones Ritten, Chian and Linda Thunstrom. 2024. "How does the choice of displayed gender impact wagę negotiations." AEA RCT Registry. March 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13072-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-11
Intervention End Date
2024-02-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Negotiated split between employers and employers, gender avatar choice, task competency, beliefs about gender differences in negotiations, overconfidence, demographic and socioeconomic categories
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct an online experiment where randomly matched pairs of ‘Employers’ and ‘Employees’ negotiate how to split joint earnings from an incentivized task. Participants chose the gender avatar (male/female/gender neutral) that they want to display to their negotiation partner. In addition to the avatar display, the role of employer/employee and competency of their match on the task in known to participants. Participants receive earning based on their negotiated split and their joint success on the task.
Experimental Design Details
Participants are recruited to participate in an online experiment. Once consent and instructions are given, participants are randomly assigned the role of ‘Employer’ or ‘Employee’ and stay in that role for the entirety of the study. Participants are then are asked which avatar they would like to display to their match (female avatar/male avatar/gender-neutral avatar). They then conduct a preliminary task of counting the number of 1s in matrices. Pairs of Employers and Employees are then randomly matched, and their chosen gender avatar and competency on the preliminary task is given to their matched participant. The matched pair is then given three minutes to decide how they want to split earning (based on a secondary task). After the matched pair negotiates how to split earning, then they each enter into a secondary task where they count the number of 1s in matrices individually. Participants are paid through an Amazon gift card based on their negotiated splits and number of matrices correctly counted by themselves and their match. After the study, participants complete a survey where they indicate how well they belief they did in the study compared to others and gender differences in success in the study. Survey questions also gather risk preferences, donations, and socioeconomic and demographic information.
Randomization Method
Randomization by the computer program
Randomization Unit
Individuals into role
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
90 women and 90 men
Sample size: planned number of observations
180 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
90 Employees and 90 Employers
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
N=180, .25, 80%
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Wyoming
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-20
IRB Approval Number
07232013DM00026
Analysis Plan

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