Rich Mixture Set, Process Preference, and Home Bias - Testing Preference for Decisiveness of the Preferred Source (PDPS)

Last registered on July 17, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Rich Mixture Set, Process Preference, and Home Bias - Testing Preference for Decisiveness of the Preferred Source (PDPS)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014036
Initial registration date
July 17, 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 17, 2024, 2:17 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 17, 2024, 8:42 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and National University of Singapore
PI Affiliation
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2024-06-15
End date
2024-06-22
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The primary purpose of this experiment is to test the theoretical predictions of our paper which are all based on rich mixture sets. Imposing standard axioms on this flexible choice domain gives rise to a parsimonious representation of source recursive expected utility (SREU). Under the resulting SREU, if a decision-maker exhibits source preference (a consistent preference for equivalent lotteries, differing only in the source of resolution), then the decision-maker prefers more uncertainty being resolved by the preferred source. We refer to this as preference for decisiveness of the preferred source (PDPS). The hypothesis is to test whether those with source preference also have PDPS.

H0: Random behaviour i.e. proportion of subjects satisfying PDPS is 50\%
H1: Proportion of subjects who satisfy PDPS is more than the proportion of subjects who do not i.e. proportion of subjects satisfying PDPS is greater than 50%

Another hypothesis we can test is to see whether we observe more PDPS for those who prefer to flip the cards themselves, compared to their partner flipping to see if this is consistent with the literature on the illusion/locus of control.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chew, Soo Hong , Gavin Kader and Wenqian Wang. 2024. "Rich Mixture Set, Process Preference, and Home Bias - Testing Preference for Decisiveness of the Preferred Source (PDPS)." AEA RCT Registry. July 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14036-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-06-15
Intervention End Date
2024-06-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Subjects are asked to complete two types of tasks: i) source preference tasks, and ii) a PDPS task. Both involve flipping face-down cards (red or green) and two sources of risk: i) flipping themselves, or ii) partner flipping. For a source preference task, there is one red card and one green card. Subjects choose whether to flip a card themselves or have their partner flip a card. The payoff distribution is identical regardless of who flips the card. However, subjects receive the higher payoff if they flip the red card themselves, and the lower payoff if their partner flips it. Subjects complete two source preference tasks, with payoffs differing between tasks. We say a subject exhibits source preference if they consistently choose the same source.

For a PDPS task, there is one red card and two green cards. Subjects choose whether to flip a card themselves first (and their partner second) or have their partner flip a card first (and themselves second). The payoff distribution is identical regardless of the order in which cards are flipped. Subjects receive the higher payoff if they flip the red card themselves, and the lower payoff otherwise. If the red card is never flipped, subjects receive an intermediate payoff. Subjects complete one PDPS task.

Their choices in each task serve as the variables used for the main analysis.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We test whether PDPS holds i.e. whether subjects have a preference for their preferred source serving a more decisive role. This means getting those who have consistent preference for a source (flipping themselves or their partner) and checking how many choose to have their preferred source in the first stage of the rich lotteries in the PDPS task.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomisation done by a computer in the lab
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomisation
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
160 subjects
Sample size: planned number of observations
160 subjects
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
160 subjects
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Based on initial pilot experiments, power analysis suggested we have a sample of 160 (power = 0.81, significance level = 0.05, effect size = 20% above random behaviour i.e. 0.5*1.2 = 0.6).
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 22, 2024, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 22, 2024, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
191 subjects
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
191 subjects
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
191 subjects
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials