Ambiguity Attitude and Effort Provision

Last registered on November 07, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Ambiguity Attitude and Effort Provision
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017088
Initial registration date
November 03, 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
November 07, 2025, 7:41 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
China
Region
Guangdong

Primary Investigator

Name
Yufei Liu
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Zhihua Li
PI Affiliation
Beijing Normal - Hong Kong Baptist University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-11-12
End date
2026-01-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab, Labor
Additional Keywords
Ambiguity attitude
JEL code(s)
C91, D81, J33
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study aims to investigate how people’s ambiguity attitudes affect their effort provisions. Participants will complete real effort task and decision-making task.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Li, Zhihua and Yufei Liu. 2025. "Ambiguity Attitude and Effort Provision." AEA RCT Registry. November 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17088-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants of the study are asked to complete two types of task: real-effort task and decision-making task.

The experiment varies the payment scheme in the real-effort task. Participants are paid under one of three conditions: flat wage, piece rate, or competition.

This design allows us to compare the outcomes in different incentive environments.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-12
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1 - Effort provision, as indicated by participants in a counting zero task.
2 - Choice in decision-making task.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants complete a real-effort task and a decision-making task in the lab. Participants complete two rounds of a real-effort task (counting zeros in a 10×10 matrix) and two rounds of a decision-making task. The experiment investigates how ambiguity attitudes affect effort provision under different payment schemes.
Experimental Design Details
The experiment includes four parts:

Part 1: Participants perform a real-effort task (counting the number of zeros in 10×10 matrices within a 10-minute time limit).

Part 2: Participants complete a decision-making task where they make choices between (1) receiving payment based on their performance ranking in Part 1 and (b) receiving payment with 1%-100% probability.

Part 3: Participants perform the real-effort task again under the same rules as in Part 1.

Part 4: Participants repeat the decision-making task corresponding to Part 3.
Randomization Method
Two levels of randomization were used.
(i) Session level: payment scheme pre-assignment to sessions.
(ii) Individual level within sessions: envelope draw upon arrival to randomly select which task is additional payoff-relevant for that participant.
Randomization Unit
Session (for the payment scheme of real-effort task) and Individual (for the additional payoff selection).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
180-240 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
180-240 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
60-80 participants
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethic Committee of Beijing Normal - Hong Kong Baptist University
IRB Approval Date
2025-10-27
IRB Approval Number
REC-2025-53
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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