Present Bias in Choices over Food and Money

Last registered on October 28, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Present Bias in Choices over Food and Money
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014667
Initial registration date
October 27, 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
October 28, 2024, 1:37 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Bavaria

Primary Investigator

Name
Alexander Danzer
Affiliation
KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Helen Zeidler
PI Affiliation
TU Munich
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-11-11
End date
2019-12-20
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Field Experiment, Dynamic Inconsistency, Commitment, Food Consumption
JEL code(s)
D12, D01, C93, D91, I12
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This paper investigates time inconsistencies in food consumption based on a framed field experiment at a college canteen where participants repeatedly select and consume lunch menus. To test dynamically inconsistent behavior, the design features a continuous convex non-monetary budget in an entirely natural environment and satisfies the consume-on-receipt assumption. Leveraging 3,666 choices of different food healthiness, we find no time inconsistency at the aggregate meal level. Utility weight estimates at the dish level reveal that consumers‘ time inconsistencies are hidden by balancing behavior between food categories, like main dishes and desserts. Individuals who exert self-control in food consumption take up a commitment device as soon as it becomes available, while non-committers tend to be present-biased. Our results suggest that internal and external control strategies are substitutes. When measuring present bias with standard monetary tasks, we find no correlation between dynamic inconsistency in food and money choices.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Danzer, Alexander and Helen Zeidler. 2024. "Present Bias in Choices over Food and Money." AEA RCT Registry. October 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14667-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
No intervention. Subjects are offered a commitment device in session 2 for session 3.
Intervention Start Date
2019-11-11
Intervention End Date
2019-12-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Consumption choices and their healthiness; selected food items out of 2925 possible food item combinations
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
To assess dish healthiness, we collect nutritional information such as energy
content (calories), saturated fats, sugar, salt, fiber, proteins and the share of
fruits/vegetables for all food items. All nutrients are collected for single ingredients,
summed up and weighted according to recipes. Most recipes are provided
by the canteen operator. In case recipes are not provided, we search for comparable
dishes. Nutritional information were hand-collected online and additionally
provided by a commercial supplier platform. We follow Cherchye et al. (2020)
and compute the Nutrient Profile Score (NPS) for each food item.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We examine dynamic inconsistencies in real food consumption using a longitudinal
framed field experiment at a college canteen in Bavaria, Germany. In three separate
sessions participants choose food items from the canteen’s menu for immediate
and prospective consumption, and subsequently consume their lunch.
Experimental Design Details
We examine dynamic inconsistencies in real food consumption using a longitudinal
framed field experiment at a college canteen in Bavaria, Germany. In three separate
sessions participants choose food items from the canteen’s menu for immediate
and prospective consumption, and subsequently consume their lunch.

Subjects can choose from the entire college canteen menu without
choice restrictions, apart from the budget limit which is either 4 or 5 Euros. In
effect, individuals make choices for both budget constraints before the computer
randomly selects one payoff. Time inconsistencies are identified from comparing
advance food choices that are made in the first week for the second week (advance
perspective) with immediate food choices that are made in the second week for
the second week (immediate perspective). We expect time inconsistent individuals
to switch from healthier food items in advance choice to unhealthier food
items in immediate choice given the desire to adopt a healthier diet (in the future)
Randomization Method
Out of the selected meals, one meal is randomly selected. This ensures incentive compatible choices, but is no intervention..
Randomization Unit
meal level randomization
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
73 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
3666 food items for 73 individuals in 3 sessions, each with several choices.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
n.a.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
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