(Mis)Perceived Prevalence of Antisocial Behavior across Demographic Groups

Last registered on July 23, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
(Mis)Perceived Prevalence of Antisocial Behavior across Demographic Groups
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019187
Initial registration date
July 17, 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
July 23, 2026, 8:02 AM 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
Sahar Sangi
Affiliation
University of Amsterdam
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-07-20
End date
2027-08-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Beliefs about others’ behavior play a central role in economic interactions. In many settings, such as labor markets, political competition, and group-based cooperation, individuals make decisions under uncertainty about whether others will act opportunistically or antisocially. These beliefs are often shaped by stereotypes about social groups, yet relatively little is known about their accuracy, how they respond to information, or how they translate into economically consequential decisions. This paper addresses this gap by experimentally measuring (i) the true prevalence of antisocial behavior across demographic groups, (ii) individuals’ beliefs and belief updating in response to noisy but correct information, and (iii) how these beliefs shape subsequent partner choice in an environment where antisocial behavior has real monetary consequences.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Sangi, Sahar. 2026. "(Mis)Perceived Prevalence of Antisocial Behavior across Demographic Groups." AEA RCT Registry. July 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19187-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-07-20
Intervention End Date
2026-08-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Prior belief bias, Prior subgroup belief gap, Belief update, Partner choice.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study examines how people form and revise beliefs about the choices of other participants, and how these beliefs relate to their subsequent decisions. The study consists of two experiments conducted on Prolific with US-resident adults.

Experiment 1 measures actual behavior. Participants complete an incentivized real-effort task and are matched into pairs. One member of each pair then makes a series of incentivized decisions that can affect their own and their partner's earnings; the other member makes a series of choices with no payoff consequences for others. One decision situation is randomly selected for payment.

Experiment 2 recruits a separate sample. Participants receive a complete description of the Experiment 1 environment and state incentivized beliefs about the choices made by Experiment 1 participants, overall and for subgroups of participants. They then observe truthful information about a random sample of actual Experiment 1 choices and re-state their beliefs. Participants also make an incentivized choice about which type of participant they are matched with for a paid task, where the matched participant's recorded decision from Experiment 1 can affect their earnings. The experiment concludes with a personality questionnaire.

Experiment 2 uses a 2×2 between-subject design that varies (i) the domain of the Experiment 1 choices that participants predict, and (ii) whether the matching choice occurs before or after the information stage.

Outcome variables, hypotheses, estimating equations, exclusion criteria, and the full analysis are pre-specified in the attached pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1900
Sample size: planned number of observations
1900
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Experiment 2 (2×2 between-subject design), 375 individuals per cell:

375 individuals — Domain 1 (predicting decisions that affected others' earnings), matching choice before information
375 individuals — Domain 1, matching choice after information
375 individuals — Domain 2 (predicting choices with no payoff consequences for others), matching choice before information
375 individuals — Domain 2, matching choice after information
Experiment 1 (measurement sample, no treatment arms): 400 individuals, of whom approximately 200 are assigned the decision-maker role and 200 the partner role by arrival order.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Economics and Business Ethics Committee (EBEC), University of Amsterdam
IRB Approval Date
2026-06-18
IRB Approval Number
EB-25069
Analysis Plan

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