Selection into social learning

Trial Information

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0013638

Initial registration date

July 09, 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

July 16, 2024, 2:29 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Pauline Vorjohann

Affiliation

University of Exeter

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Stephen Nei

PI Affiliation

University of Exeter

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2024-07-08

End date

2025-05-31

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

selection, information acquisition

JEL code(s)

D01, D83, D91

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

People often exchange information in the hopes of making improved decisions. However, if there is a cost to exchanging information, individual decisions to participate should trade off the expected benefit with this cost. When the expected benefit is the instrumental value of the gathered knowledge, economic theory suggests that one's presence is a signal of one's information, with more informed agents not finding the benefit likely to exceed the cost. This paper develops a simple model to demonstrate this point and then proceeds to test experimentally whether individuals (a) respond to costs in their information-gathering choices and (b) anticipate that other agents are strategic both in terms of their equilibrium decision of whether to gather information and in how they process the information provided by others.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Nei, Stephen and Pauline Vorjohann. 2024. "Selection into social learning." AEA RCT Registry. July 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13638-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Interventions

Intervention(s)

There are two bags of marbles. One contains more orange marbles and the other contains more purple marbles. For each subject, one of the two bags is chosen at random. Subjects first receive a private signal about the bag and make a guess which bag has been chosen for them. Subjects then must decide whether to pay a posted price to update their guess based on a “social signal”. The experiment has three treatments that differ in how the social signal is generated.

Intervention (Hidden)

There are two bags of marbles. Each bag contains 10 marbles in total. The orange bag contains 6 orange marbles and 4 purple marbles. The purple bag contains 4 orange marbles and 6 purple marbles. For each subject, one of the two bags is chosen at random (50-50
chance). Subjects receive a private signal about the bag in the form of 2 marbles drawn from the bag. Subjects must decide whether to pay a posted price to update their guess based on a “social signal”. Subjects provide instructions for how to change their guess as a function of the additional social signal (strategy solicitation method). The experiment has three treatments, referred to as the “Selection” (S), the “No Selection” (N), and the “Control" (C) treatments. In the S treatment, only participants who have decided to pay can be used for generating the social signal. In the N treatment, any participant could be used to generate the social signal. In the C treatment, the “social" signal is generated by the computer based on 2 more draws from the bag.

Intervention Start Date

2024-07-08

Intervention End Date

2024-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Initial guesses of the bag, initial beliefs of the likelihood of the orange bag, decisions of whether to pay for updating based on social signal, instructions for updating guess contingent on the social signal, beliefs of the likelihood of the orange bag contingent on the social signal

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

beliefs that another randomly chosen subject received each possible draw realization, beliefs that another randomly chosen subject who received a particular draw realization then paid to update based on the social signal

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

There are two bags of marbles. One contains more orange marbles and the other contains more purple marbles. For each subject, one of the two bags is chosen at random. Subjects first receive a private signal about the bag and make a guess which bag has been chosen for them. Subjects then must decide whether to pay a posted price to update their guess based on a “social signal”. The experiment has three treatments that differ in how the social signal is generated.

Experimental Design Details

There are two bags of marbles. Each bag contains 10 marbles in total. The orange bag contains 6 orange marbles and 4 purple marbles. The purple bag contains 4 orange marbles and 6 purple marbles. For each subject, one of the two bags is chosen at random (50-50
chance). Subjects receive a private signal about the bag in the form of 2 marbles drawn from the bag. Subjects must decide whether to pay a posted price to update their guess based on a “social signal”. Subjects provide instructions for how to change their guess as a function of the additional social signal (strategy solicitation method). The experiment has three treatments, referred to as the “Selection” (S), the “No Selection” (N), and the “Control" (C) treatments. In the S treatment, only participants who have decided to pay can be used for generating the social signal. In the N treatment, any participant could be used to generate the social signal. In the C treatment, the “social" signal is generated by the computer based on 2 more draws from the bag.

Randomization Method

Computer

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

400 participants

Sample size: planned number of observations

400 participants

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

150 treatment S, 150 treatment N, 100 treatment C

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

University of Exeter Research Ethics and Governance Team

IRB Approval Date

2023-06-23

IRB Approval Number

2603255

Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Selection into social learning

Pre-Trial

General Information

Locations

Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Registration Citation

Sponsors

Interventions

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

Experimental Design

Experiment Characteristics

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Post-Trial

Study Withdrawal

Intervention

Data Publication

Program Files

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials