Gender-Stereotypes in Task Choice: An Experimental Investigation of Taste-Based vs. Statistical Self-Stereotyping

Last registered on June 24, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gender-Stereotypes in Task Choice: An Experimental Investigation of Taste-Based vs. Statistical Self-Stereotyping
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013730
Initial registration date
June 06, 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
June 24, 2024, 12:18 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
Lea Weigand
Affiliation
University of Zurich
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-06-07
End date
2025-03-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
self-stereotyping, gender-stereotypes, online experiment
JEL code(s)
D9
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In this project, I run an online experiment to shed light on two potential drivers of self-stereotypical behavior: statistical and taste-based self-stereotyping. With the former I refer to individuals using stereotypes about a group to which they belong to draw conclusions about their own abilities. Taste-based self-stereotyping I define as describing individuals’ intrinsic preferences to act in accordance with stereotypes. In my project, I am explicitly analysing preferences for self-stereotypical behavior and statistical self-stereotyping in the same setting. To do so, I conduct an online experiment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Weigand, Lea. 2024. "Gender-Stereotypes in Task Choice: An Experimental Investigation of Taste-Based vs. Statistical Self-Stereotyping." AEA RCT Registry. June 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13730-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In the experiment, the treatment consists of the random assignment of experimental subjects to a task stereotype.
Intervention Start Date
2024-06-07
Intervention End Date
2024-06-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcomes consist of beliefs about ability, task enjoyment and a revealed preferences measure for the task. (More details in the pre-analysis plan).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
(More details in the pre-analysis plan).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
(More details in the pre-analysis plan).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
(More details in the pre-analysis plan).

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In part 1 of the experiment, I measure the degree to which participants consider their assigned task as stereotypically male or female. To elicit these evaluations, I use the method of Krupka and Weber (2013): I measure respondents’ second-order beliefs (i.e., their beliefs about others’ evaluations) which allows to incentivize answers. Eliciting task perception is important to establish that the different treatments actually shift perceived task gender-stereotypes. I have pre-tested these framings to make sure they do.
In the next part, experimental subjects are asked to work on the assigned task for one round (I refer to the first round as the baseline work round). Task completion is incentivized by performance-based pay. After finishing the baseline work round, subjects are asked how much they enjoyed working on the task, how well they think they have performed and how confident they feel about their answers in the baseline round of the task. Participants then receive perfect feedback on their baseline performance: They learn exactly how many task problems they have solved correctly in the baseline work round. After the provision of feedback, I measure individuals’ expected task enjoyment if they were to work on the task a second time. I also elicit participants’ beliefs about their future performance in the task.
In the third part of the study, participants choose the task they will work on in a second work round. Subjects can choose between the task they have already performed in the baseline work round (with problems that are different but similar in style and difficulty to the baseline
round) and a neutral outside option task. I use a multiple price list (MPL) in which subjects have to decide across decision rows which of
the two tasks they want to complete in work round 2 to earn additional payment. I vary the fixed payment for the outside option task across MPL rows. One row of the MPL is randomly implemented to determine the task a subject works on in work round 2 to incentivize truthful answers. I also elicit motives driving the MPL choices via an open text field question.
In the final part of the experiment, I measure character traits and demographic information for heterogeneity analyses. I also measure gender norms.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation done by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1400 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
1400 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
700 individuals per treatment condition (350 men, 350 women per treatment condition)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Subjects Committee of the Faculty of Economics, Business Administration, and Information Technology
IRB Approval Date
2024-05-30
IRB Approval Number
OEC IRB # 2024-056
Analysis Plan

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