A Field Experiment Compares the Motivational Effects of Two Reward Rules in Contest

Last registered on May 14, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
A Field Experiment Compares the Motivational Effects of Two Reward Rules in Contest
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015944
Initial registration date
May 07, 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
May 14, 2025, 10:29 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Hanlin Lou
Affiliation
University of New South Wales
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yanlin Chen
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Hui Xu
PI Affiliation
Beijing Normal University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-05-08
End date
2025-05-23
Keywords
Education, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Contest theory, Reward design
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study explores how different reward structures influence individual motivation, performance, and belief formation in competitive settings. We conduct a field experiment with Year 10 and Year 11 students from a Chinese high school, randomly assigning them to groups of five within their class. Each group is then assigned to one of two reward conditions: a winner-take-all scheme or a rank-based reward system. Participants are given a list of 100 English words to memorize over two days, followed by a vocabulary test. Rewards, distributed as tokens redeemable for tangible goods, are allocated based on test performance according to the assigned scheme, with total rewards held constant across conditions. Participants also receive information about their group members’ prior performance in a related task and are asked to report their expected ranking both before and after the preparation period. This study provides new evidence on how competitive reward designs affect effort, strategic beliefs, and outcomes in contests.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Yanlin, Hanlin Lou and Hui Xu. 2025. "A Field Experiment Compares the Motivational Effects of Two Reward Rules in Contest." AEA RCT Registry. May 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15944-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We implement a between-subjects design to compare the motivational effects of two reward schemes in a contest setting. The reward schemes are as follows:

Winner-take-all: Only the top performer in each group receives a reward.

Rank-based reward system: The amount increasing progressively based on performance ranking.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-09
Intervention End Date
2025-05-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Contest performance, measured by participants' test scores on the English vocabulary test.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct the experiment with Year 10 and Year 11 students from a Chinese high school. At the beginning of the experiment, participants are randomly assigned to groups of five within their class. Each group is then randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions.

Participants receive a vocabulary list containing 100 English words and are given two days to memorize them. They are informed that a vocabulary memory contest will take place two days later. The contest consists of a vocabulary test, and participants’ rewards depend on their rank within their group based on test performance. The reward schemes differ across the two experimental groups.

Each participant receives an A4-sized information sheet detailing the reward scheme and the score distribution of their group members from the most recent English exam. Participants earn tokens as rewards, which can be exchanged for tangible goods at the end of the experiment. All participants receive 5 tokens for participation, and additional tokens can be earned through the contest. Each experimental group follows a different reward scheme, but the total token allocation is equal across the two systems.

Treatment Group 1 (Winner-Take-All): The top-ranked student in each group of five receives 50 tokens; the remaining four receive none.

Treatment Group 2 (Rank-Based Reward System): Tokens are awarded based on performance: 20 tokens for 1st place, 15 for 2nd, 10 for 3rd, 5 for 4th, and 0 for 5th.

Additionally, we elicit participants’ subjective beliefs about their likelihood of ranking in the top 1, top 2, top 3, and top 4 positions at two time points: (1) at the beginning of the experiment and (2) immediately before the vocabulary test. We will use a follow-up survey after participants receive their rewards to elicit their satisfaction with the contest outcomes and the reward system.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
210 students
Sample size: planned number of observations
210 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
105 per experimental group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Beijing Normal University
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-06
IRB Approval Number
20250506
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