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Abstract
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Before
This project investigates the causes of under-reporting for college sexual assault by examining the impacts of both a survey technique designed to provide plausible deniability and the salience of social norms on reporting rates. I designed a 2x2 online survey experiment in which subjects complete two primary tasks on social norms and experience with sexual assault. In the social norm task, subjects complete an incentivized social norm elicitation exercise, where they predict the percentage of previous survey respondents (men and women) who agree with statements suggesting that women reporting sexual assault are partly responsible for what happened or are lying about the assault. In the experience task, subjects complete binary questions on their experience with either sexual assault perpetration or victimization. I vary: 1) whether survey responses on victimization and perpetration are recorded using direct elicitation or “hard-garbling,” and 2) the order in which subjects complete the two tasks. I assess the impacts of the survey technique and of the salience of social norms, as proxied by whether subjects complete the social norm task first or second, on reporting rates and investigate the level of misperception of social norms.
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After
This project investigates the causes of under-reporting for college sexual assault by examining the impacts of both a survey technique designed to provide plausible deniability and the salience of social norms on reporting rates. I designed a 2x2 online survey experiment in which subjects complete two primary tasks on social norms and experience with sexual assault. In the social norm task, subjects complete an incentivized social norm elicitation exercise, where they predict the percentage of previous survey respondents (men and women) who agree with statements suggesting that women reporting sexual assault are partly responsible for what happened or are lying about the assault. In the experience task, subjects complete binary questions on their experience with either sexual assault perpetration or victimization. I vary: 1) whether survey responses on victimization and perpetration are recorded using direct elicitation or “hard-garbling,” and 2) the order in which subjects complete the two tasks. I assess the impacts of the survey technique and of the salience of social norms, as proxied by whether subjects complete the social norm task first or second, on reporting rates and investigate the level of misperception of social norms.
Edits made on 2/12/2025: After collecting preliminary data in December 2024, I decided to change the design so that the social norms task always comes after the experience task. As a result, the study is now a 2x1 online experiment. The original design, where I intended to place the social norm task before or after the experience task, proved ineffective in manipulating the salience of perceived social norms.
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Last Published
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Before
January 02, 2025 09:42 AM
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After
February 12, 2025 03:30 PM
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Intervention (Public)
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Before
I designed a 2x2 online survey experiment in which subjects complete two primary tasks on social norms and experience with sexual assault. In the social norm task, subjects complete an incentivized social norm elicitation exercise. I present subjects with two statements: one suggesting that women reporting sexual assault are partly responsible for what happened, and the other questioning whether the woman is lying about the assault. Participants are asked to predict the percentage of previous survey respondents (men and women) who agreed with each statement. In the experience task, subjects answer binary questions on their experience with either sexual assault perpetration or victimization. All men are asked about sexual assault perpetration, and all women are asked about sexual assault victimization. I vary: 1) whether survey responses on victimization and perpetration are recorded using direct elicitation or “hard-garbling,” and 2) the order in which subjects complete the experience and the social norm tasks. In the hard-garbling survey technique, a subset of responses to a binary question (on either victimization or perpetration of sexual assault) are randomly recorded as “Yes” responses, regardless of the true response. This randomization provides respondents with plausible deniability, as researchers – or anyone else viewing the data – cannot know for sure whether a “Yes” response was truly a “Yes” or an intended “No.” I also vary the salience of individual perceptions of social norms related to reported assaults by experimentally manipulating whether subjects complete the social norm task before or after answering the questions on personal experiences of sexual assault.
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After
I designed a 2x2 online survey experiment in which subjects complete two primary tasks on social norms and experience with sexual assault. In the social norm task, subjects complete an incentivized social norm elicitation exercise. I present subjects with two statements: one suggesting that women reporting sexual assault are partly responsible for what happened, and the other questioning whether the woman is lying about the assault. Participants are asked to predict the percentage of previous survey respondents (men and women) who agreed with each statement. In the experience task, subjects answer binary questions on their experience with either sexual assault perpetration or victimization. All men are asked about sexual assault perpetration, and all women are asked about sexual assault victimization. I vary: 1) whether survey responses on victimization and perpetration are recorded using direct elicitation or “hard-garbling,” and 2) the order in which subjects complete the experience and the social norm tasks. In the hard-garbling survey technique, a subset of responses to a binary question (on either victimization or perpetration of sexual assault) are randomly recorded as “Yes” responses, regardless of the true response. This randomization provides respondents with plausible deniability, as researchers – or anyone else viewing the data – cannot know for sure whether a “Yes” response was truly a “Yes” or an intended “No.” I also vary the salience of individual perceptions of social norms related to reported assaults by experimentally manipulating whether subjects complete the social norm task before or after answering the questions on personal experiences of sexual assault.
Edited on 2/12/2025: This design has now been modified so that all subjects will complete the experience task first.
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Intervention End Date
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Before
March 01, 2025
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After
June 01, 2025
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Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
The survey experiment will involve individuals aged 18-27 that indicate being either current undergraduate students or recent college graduates. These individuals are recruited via Prolific.
The survey consists of two primary tasks on social norms and experience. The social norm task contains questions on agreement with social norm statements and predictions of what other people think. The predictions will be incentivized, and subjects will be paid $0.25 for each correct guess. The experience task contains binary questions on sexual assault experiences. Note that all men will be asked about sexual assault perpetration, and all women will be asked about victimization. The basic experiment is a 2x2 design in which I vary which survey technique is used and what order subjects complete the tasks.
I randomly assign participants into one of four treatment conditions:
• T1: Less Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T2: Less Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
• T3: Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T4: Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
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After
The survey experiment will involve individuals aged 18-27 that indicate being either current undergraduate students or recent college graduates. These individuals are recruited via Prolific.
The survey consists of two primary tasks on social norms and experience. The social norm task contains questions on agreement with social norm statements and predictions of what other people think. The predictions will be incentivized, and subjects will be paid $0.25 for each correct guess. The experience task contains binary questions on sexual assault experiences. Note that all men will be asked about sexual assault perpetration, and all women will be asked about victimization. The basic experiment is a 2x2 design in which I vary which survey technique is used and what order subjects complete the tasks.
I randomly assign participants into one of four treatment conditions:
• T1: Less Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T2: Less Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
• T3: Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T4: Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
Edited on 2/12/2025: This design has now been modified to only include T1 and T2. Preliminary data collected in December 2024 from 802 women showed that changing the ordering of the social norm task fails to make social norms more or less salient in the experiment, and introduces noise. The data collection will therefore proceed with a fixed order, i.e., the social norm task will come after the experience task.
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Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
3,200 individuals
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After
3,200 individuals
Edited on 2/12/2025: 1,600 individuals
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Planned Number of Observations
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Before
3,200 individuals
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After
3,200 individuals
Edited on 2/12/2025: 1,600 individuals
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Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
1,600 men and 1,600 women; 400 men and 400 women in each treatment arm:
• T1: Less Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T2: Less Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
• T3: Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T4: Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
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After
1,600 men and 1,600 women; 400 men and 400 women in each treatment arm:
• T1: Less Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T2: Less Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
• T3: Salient Social Norms, Direct Elicitation
• T4: Salient Social Norms, Hard-Garbling
Edited on 2/12/2025: The revised design only comprises T1 and T2, i.e., the social norm task comes after the experience task for all study participants. Changes in the design from a 2x2 experiment to a 2x1 experiment implies that the sample will now be made of 800 women and 800 men total.
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