Neuroeconomics of Competition and Performance Feedback

Last registered on July 07, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Neuroeconomics of Competition and Performance Feedback
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015602
Initial registration date
July 05, 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
July 07, 2025, 3:20 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Seda Ertac
Affiliation
Koc University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Efe Soyman
PI Affiliation
Koc University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-04-16
End date
2026-12-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
competition, performance feedback, neural measurements, EEG
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
It is well-known that some individuals, particularly women, tend to shy away from competition. This creates significant inefficiency in education and labor market outcomes, as highly able individuals with negative attitudes toward competition are less likely to reach top positions. Part of the negative attitude towards competitive settings can come from the stress/anxiety induced by competition, especially in cases where there is performance feedback. This study will explore 1) the behavioral and neural correlates of the attitudes and response of men and women to competitive environments and performance feedback, 2) the question of whether providing individuals with experience in competitive environments with feedback changes the way they respond to negative and positive performance feedback within such environments. The study will collect both behavioral and neural data, the latter through EEG.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ertac, Seda and Efe Soyman . 2025. "Neuroeconomics of Competition and Performance Feedback." AEA RCT Registry. July 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15602-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
A behavioral experience session will be conducted before the EEG session, where a random set of subjects will do tasks with competition and performance feedback (this group will get rewards based on competition outcome), while a control group does the same tasks without feedback and without any incentives related to performance. After this behavioral experience session, participants will participate in the EEG session, where we will collect the main outcome measures.
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-15
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
EEG outcomes: Response to negative performance feedback, response to positive performance feedback, neural activity during competition. Specifically, we define the primary outcome as the feedback-related negativity (FRN), an event-related potential (ERP) component derived from raw EEG recordings using ERP analysis techniques. The FRN is typically observed as a more negative deflection in the ERP waveform approximately 200–350 ms after feedback onset, especially in fronto-central electrodes such as Fz and Cz. It is most pronounced when participants receive negative or worse-than-expected feedback. The FRN is thought to originate primarily from the anterior cingulate cortex.

We will compute the FRN separately for win and loss conditions. In the control group, we expect to observe a clear FRN effect. In contrast, in the treatment group, we hypothesize that the FRN response will be reduced or absent. This attenuation would suggest that the treatment modulates neural sensitivity to negative feedback in competitive environments.

Additionally, independent of experimental group assignment, we will test the hypothesis that individual differences in self-reported competitiveness are associated with FRN amplitude. Specifically, we predict a correlation between participants' competitiveness scores and the magnitude of the FRN.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We may examine neural oscillations during the feedback period or during the problem-solving phase. However, these analyses are secondary in nature and not currently guided by strong a priori hypotheses. Our preregistered primary outcomes and hypotheses are limited to the ERP-based FRN measures described above.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study starts with an exploratory survey conducted online. The exploratory survey serves several purposes:
1) Collect measures of competitiveness that will provide a basis for recruiting participants into the neuroeconomics study, that explores the question of whether providing competition experience can change the neural response to positive and negative performance feedback in a competitive environment, 2) Provide baseline data that will allow us to correlate neural responses in the neuroeconomics study with baseline behavioral attitudes towards competitiveness and performance feedback, 3) Do an exploratory analysis of the correlates of the decision to compete in different competitive settings, and their predictive power over achievement. Participants from a range of attitudes towards competition and feedback will then be invited to the study, and upon selection, randomly assigned to treatment (behavioral experience) and control (no experience). These participants will then participate in an EEG session to measure neural activity in competition with a variety of tasks, with feedback.

Invited participants will then be asked to take part in a "behavioral experience session" where a random set of subjects will engage in tasks under competitive incentives and performance feedback, while a control group will see the same tasks without feedback or any performance incentives.

Finally, there will be an EEG session designed to measure the neural correlates of the response to win/loss feedback in a competitive environment.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
60 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
60 participants in the behavioral and EEG sessions (a higher number in the exploratory baseline survey)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
30 in treatment and 30 in control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Koc University Committee on Human Research
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-07
IRB Approval Number
2025.057.IRB3.023
Analysis Plan