Reaction to Discrimination: Experimental Evidence

Last registered on January 22, 2025

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Reaction to Discrimination: Experimental Evidence
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015235
Initial registration date
January 21, 2025

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 22, 2025, 9:29 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
University of Milan

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Università Bocconi
PI Affiliation
University of Milan - Bicocca
PI Affiliation
University of Bologna
PI Affiliation
Università Bocconi
PI Affiliation
University of Milan - Bicocca

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-21
End date
2025-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study how racial minority group members behave towards victims of discrimination perpetrated by the majority group. We develop a novel incentivized experimental game and contrast generic behavior of minorities towards another individual (either an ingroup or an outgroup minority/majority group member) against their behavior following a situation when the other individual was subject to discrimination perpetrated by a majority group member. We also randomly prime participants by their own past experience of discrimination to study the subsequent effects of their behavior. This study aims to fill the gap in our understanding of minority group member dynamics in a discriminatory setting.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bartos, Vojtech et al. 2025. "Reaction to Discrimination: Experimental Evidence." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15235-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We manipulate the identity of the receiver in experimental games by randomizing between minority outgroup, majority outgroup and minority ingroup. We keep this identity fixed across all experimental games an individual player is asked to play. We also randomly prime participants by their own experience of discrimination to study the subsequent effects on their behavior.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-21
Intervention End Date
2025-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Difference in behavior between the two games, with and without prior experience of discrimination, by the identity of the minority receiver. Details in the hidden part will be published after study publication.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We construct binary variables for helping and harming behavior for both games. Details in the hidden part will be published after study publication.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
US residents play a novel incentivized experimental game and we contrast generic behavior of minorities towards another individual (either an ingroup or an outgroup minority/majority group member) against their behavior following a situation when the other individual was subject to discrimination perpetrated by a majority group member. Details in the hidden part will be published when the study is published.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Software-based randomization.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4500
Sample size: planned number of observations
4500
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Black Respondents, Prime, Black P3: 750
Black Respondents, Prime, Hispanic P3: 750
Black Respondents, Prime, White P3: 750
Black Respondents, No Prime, Black P3: 750
Black Respondents, No Prime, Hispanic P3: 750
Black Respondents, No Prime, White P3: 750
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
To detect a difference of 0.2 standard deviations (based on pilot data and pre-existing similar experiments) between CG and DG with conventional parameters (alpha = 0.05 and beta = 0.8) the size of a treatment arm should be around 750
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Bocconi Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2025-01-17
IRB Approval Number
RA000869