Signals and Information

Last registered on May 01, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Signals and Information
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013365
Initial registration date
April 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
May 01, 2024, 1:30 PM EDT

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
Michael Cuna
Affiliation
University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-04-20
End date
2024-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates beliefs about signal interpretation in the labor market. In particular it aims at discovering inequities in information of optimal signals through an online sender receiver experiment to mimic real life job applications and hiring decisions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cuna, Michael. 2024. "Signals and Information ." AEA RCT Registry. May 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13365-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-20
Intervention End Date
2024-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1) beliefs 2) open ended responses
3) quantitative rating of responses
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Through online panel providers (Prolific) recruit individuals to participate in hiring experiment
Experimental Design Details
First wave:
1) participants are recruited and are asked to apply to a fictitious job and are assigned observable characteristics (gpa, education, qualification, and technical experience).
They are informed that their "application" will be reviewed by hiring managers and top 10 performers will receive a bonus
2) They are then tasked to reply to 2 interview style questions, one of which mimics. a short cover letter type question
3) Finally I elicit their beliefs on what hiring managers are looking for in an applicant and what characteristic of a hiring manager they would like to know before applying to jobs

Second wave:
1) Recruit hiring managers
2) Hiring managers will be randomly assigned 2 to 4 candidates to review: the randomization is of the applicants ethnicity and educational background . E.g. hiring manager will be randomly assigned a white candidate to review or a black candidate to review
3) Have the hiring managers review and rate the applicant
4) Finally collect beliefs and information on common hiring practices
Randomization Method
Randomization is conducted on a computer.
Randomization Unit
Unit of randomization is the individual hiring manager
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1200
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200 adults
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 hiring managers
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board The University of Chicago
IRB Approval Date
2024-03-20
IRB Approval Number
IRB24-0329
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