Color me Honest! Time Pressure and (Dis-)Honest Behavior

Last registered on January 26, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Color me Honest! Time Pressure and (Dis-)Honest Behavior
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003115
Initial registration date
July 25, 2018

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 30, 2018, 1:47 AM EDT

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

Last updated
January 26, 2024, 8:28 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Thuringia

Primary Investigator

Name
Carina Ines Hausladen
Affiliation
ETH Zurich
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Olexandr Nikolaychuk
PI Affiliation
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-07-30
End date
2019-06-14
Keywords
Gender, Other
Additional Keywords
time pressure, dice, honesty, lying, behavioral economics, laboratory experiment
JEL code(s)
D91, J16
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We introduce a modified version of the die-in-the-cup paradigm to study (dis-)honest behavior under time pressure. Replacing the regular die with one that has a distinct color on its either side enables us to manipulate the amount of familiarity with the randomization device. This both removes the limitations of the original paradigm and allows for a test of theories that suggest that (dis-)honest behavior is affected by the relative difficulty of generating false reports.

We also replace the cup with a simple mechanical device for better control over the very process of rolling the die and collect mouse movement data from the participants to investigate the present behavioral archetypes.

Our main finding is that time pressure leads to more dishonest behavior, but only if the regular die is used. We also find that when given the time to deliberate, the participants generally report lower values if the regular rather than color die is used.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hausladen, Carina Ines and Olexandr Nikolaychuk. 2024. "Color me Honest! Time Pressure and (Dis-)Honest Behavior." AEA RCT Registry. January 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3115-2.2
Former Citation
Hausladen, Carina Ines and Olexandr Nikolaychuk. 2024. "Color me Honest! Time Pressure and (Dis-)Honest Behavior." AEA RCT Registry. January 26. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3115/history/209724
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Combinations of time pressure and various dice types are used as a means to elicit the natural proclivity to lying in male and female adults.
Intervention Start Date
2018-07-30
Intervention End Date
2019-06-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Inferred lying rate at the group level.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The distributions of reported outcomes by treatment group are compared to a uniform distribution: If all participants reported honestly, each of the six different outcomes should be reported with the same probability as a fair six sided die will be used.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Mouse movement, die recall, payoff association recall, time pressure perception, decision automaticity.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Mouse movement is used as proxy for the underlying reasoning processes.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants privately roll a die and subsequently report the outcome of their roll on a computer screen in order to determine their payoff.
The die is rolled with the help of a dice tower in order to ensure randomization.
The type of die used as well as time dimension for reporting results are varied between participants.
Four different combinations are planned: colored dice and time pressure, colored dice and no time pressure, numbered dice and time pressure as well as numbered dice and no time pressure.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The draw of a ball from an urn determines the computer seat. Each computer seat has either treatment assigned to it. All treatments are run concurrently.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Four treatments; between-subject.
Sample size: planned number of observations
200 participants altogether.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 participants in each of the 4 treatment groups, with an equal share of males and females.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 14, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 14, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
229
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
229 participants
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
58 color & time pressure, 58 color & no time pressure, 58 no color & no time pressure, 55 no color & time pressure
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
Yes
Public Data URL
https://github.com/carinahausladen/color-me-honest

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Program Files

Program Files
Yes
Program Files URL
https://github.com/carinahausladen/color-me-honest
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
We introduce three modifications to the die-in-a-cup paradigm to gain novel insights into dishonest behavior under time pressure. The regular die is substituted with a custom one that has a distinct color on each side as a way of manipulating familiarity with the decision situation. The cup is substituted with a ‘dice tower' to control the randomization process. Alongside outcome data, we capture mouse cursor trajectories. Results from our preregistered laboratory experiment involving 229 subjects suggest that time pressure increases dishonesty only when the regular die is used. Mouse tracking analysis suggests that it takes more effort to be honest than to lie outright and that partial lying is most difficult.
Citation
Hausladen, Carina, and Olexandr Nikolaychuk. "Color Me Honest! Time Pressure and Dis (honest) Behavior." Frontiers in Behavioral Economics 2024.
URL
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbhe.2023.1337312/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Behavioral_Economics&id=1337312

Reports & Other Materials