Debiasing Peer Endorsements in Cooperation and Competition

Last registered on April 06, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Debiasing Peer Endorsements in Cooperation and Competition
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018263
Initial registration date
April 01, 2026

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
April 06, 2026, 8:06 AM EDT

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

Locations

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

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Manuel Munoz
Affiliation
New York University Abu Dhabi
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-03-22
End date
2026-04-09
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Debiasing, Peer Endorsements, Cooperation, Competition, Behavioral Economics, Education
JEL code(s)
C93, D83, I21, I24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates how an information-based debiasing strategy influences choices regarding cooperation and competition. Building on prior findings where peer referrals faced a selection penalty, this online experiment introduces a debiasing treatment that explicitly informs participants that candidate performance is statistically identical across all endorsement groups. Participants complete tasks in a cooperative and competitive format. I measure the effect of this debiasing information on the probability of selecting peer-endorsed candidates as partners or competitors, allowing the observation of changes in revealed preferences and belief-driven behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Munoz, Manuel. 2026. "Debiasing Peer Endorsements in Cooperation and Competition." AEA RCT Registry. April 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18263-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants are presented with candidates from different endorsement groups and are randomized into one of two conditions:

Control: Standard selection tasks where participants assign probabilistic chances to be paired with teammates or competitors from each endorsement group.

Debiasing Treatment: Prior to selection, participants are explicitly informed that candidate performance is statistically the same across all endorsement groups.
Intervention Start Date
2026-03-22
Intervention End Date
2026-04-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Partner/Competitor Selection
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Partner Selection: Distribution of assigned probabilities to partner with peer-endorsed candidates in a cooperative setting.

Competitor Selection: Distribution of assigned probabilities to target peer-endorsed candidates in a competitive setting.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment is conducted online using the Prolific platform with an expected sample of 400 participants. Participants are randomly assigned to either the Control or the Debiasing Treatment group. The primary hypotheses to be tested are:

Hypothesis 1 (Cooperation): The debiasing treatment will significantly increase the selection probability for peer-endorsed candidates as partners in the cooperative task.

Hypothesis 2 (Competition): The debiasing treatment will significantly reduce the targeting of peer-endorsed candidates as opponents in the competitive task.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization into treatment arms is done inside the online experiment in Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
400 participants recruited via Prolific.
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 participants recruited via Prolific.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
About 200 per treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Social Science Experimental Laboratory - NYU Abu Dhabi
IRB Approval Date
2026-04-01
IRB Approval Number
N/a
Analysis Plan