Do Women Shy Away From Toxic Competition?

Last registered on June 08, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Do Women Shy Away From Toxic Competition?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018693
Initial registration date
May 21, 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
June 08, 2026, 3:41 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
Adelson Teh
Affiliation
Cornell University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-06-03
End date
2999-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Lab, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
C91, D9, J3, M5
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Not suitable to reveal to public before trial/study is over. Please see pre-analysis plan.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Teh, Adelson. 2026. "Do Women Shy Away From Toxic Competition?." AEA RCT Registry. June 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18693-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Not suitable to reveal to public before trial/study is over. Please see pre-analysis plan.
Intervention Start Date
2026-06-03
Intervention End Date
2027-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Choices between different compensation schemes.
Change in the probability of winning under different compensation schemes.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to sabotage.
Importance placed on different considerations when making compensation-scheme decisions.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants will be asked to complete 4 rounds of a task, with each round under a different compensation scheme. Details about what the task is and what the compensation schemes are (along with any choices they need to make in relation to the schemes) will be given to participants during the study. The task is a decoding task where participants have to decode strings of 4 numbers into their corresponding alphabets. Additional details are not suitable to be made public before the trial/study is over -- please refer to pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation (i.e., participant recruitment) is done through Prolific. The study is also programmed such that the order participants make the different decisions between compensations schemes is randomised across participants.
Randomization Unit
Individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
600 participants.
Sample size: planned number of observations
600 participants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 women ("Treatment" Group), 300 men ("Control" Group).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Given a total sample size of 600 and using the most conservative standard deviations from the pilot (where relevant), the minimum detectable effect sizes are a gender difference of 12% in the choices between compensation schemes, and a 16.2% change in the probability of winning across compensation schemes.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Cornell University Office of Research Integrity and Assurance
IRB Approval Date
2026-04-15
IRB Approval Number
IRB0150661
Analysis Plan

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