Gendered Outcome Bias

Last registered on January 07, 2025

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gendered Outcome Bias
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014905
Initial registration date
December 02, 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
January 07, 2025, 11:42 AM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Colby College

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Bucknell University
PI Affiliation
Trinity College

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-12-04
End date
2025-05-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Recent empirical studies have shown differences in the punishment and rewarding of men and women following uncertain outcomes that are due to both luck and the agent’s actions. Many studies have shown that men tend to be rewarded following unexpected good outcomes while women tend to be punished more frequently following unexpected bad outcomes. It is unclear whether these gender differences are due to a difference in how male versus female agents' outcomes are attributed to their actions (outcome bias) or whether they simply stem from a difference in a desire to punish/reward male versus female agents. We build on this literature by designing an experimental study to disentangle these competing mechanisms. We ask whether gender differences in rewards/punishments are due to differences in outcome bias depending on agent gender or differences in punishment preferences dependent on the agent’s gender.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Giffin, Erin, Brianna Halladay and Rachel Landsman. 2025. "Gendered Outcome Bias." AEA RCT Registry. January 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14905-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-12-04
Intervention End Date
2024-12-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Principals' punishment decision
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Principals can reduce the agent's payment at a cost to themselves. "Punishment decision" is if (extensive margin) and by how much (intensive margin) the principal chooses to reduce the agent's payment.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This is a two-sided experiment where participants are assigned to the role of either "principal" or "agent". Agents perform a task, and the outcome of the task is determined by their choice as well as chance ("luck"). Principals receive a bonus based on the outcome of the task. Principals observe the agent's gender as well as some information related to the task (our treatment conditions systematically vary which information is revealed). After seeing this information, principals can choose to punish the agent by reducing the agent's payment at a cost to themselves.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done within the Qualtrics survey, using the Qualtrics randomizer tool in survey flow. After completing the consent form, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the treatments and directed to the version of the survey that aligns with that condition.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The design is not clustered, so the number of observations is equal to the number of clusters (1200 participants who are assigned to the role of "principal").
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800 participants in the "outcome and choice revealed" condition (400 participants in "agent" role and 400 participants in "principal" role),
800 participants in the "outcome hidden" condition (400 participants in "agent" role and 400 participants in "principal" role),
800 participants in the "choice hidden" condition (400 participants in "agent" role and 400 participants in "principal" role)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Trinity College IRB
IRB Approval Date
2024-11-26
IRB Approval Number
#4313