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Trusting Again: Human vs. Robot

Last registered on April 17, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Trusting Again: Human vs. Robot
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004103
Initial registration date
April 16, 2019

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 17, 2019, 8:24 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano - Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-05-13
End date
2019-11-29
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study examines the possible different (or similar) reactions of human subject playing an incentivized task (for example a social dilemma such as a "Give-some" game) either versus another human being or versus an humanoid robot.
In particular we aim at manipulating the experimental tasks in order to analyse the subjects reactions to "defective" behavior by either human or robot partners in a multi-stage game setting in order to elicit possible differences in the attitude to restore trust towards a partner based on its(human vs robotic) nature
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
MAGGIONI, Mario A.. 2019. "Trusting Again: Human vs. Robot ." AEA RCT Registry. April 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4103-1.0
Former Citation
MAGGIONI, Mario A.. 2019. "Trusting Again: Human vs. Robot ." AEA RCT Registry. April 17. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4103/history/45131
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study intends to explore possible similarities and differences in reactions of human subject playing some incentivized task (in particular a social dilemma such as a "give some" game) either versus another human being or versus an humanoid robot.
Intervention Start Date
2019-05-13
Intervention End Date
2019-11-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Difference in the average cooperation rate in the second stage between treated (playing against a robot) and control (playing against a human) subjects.
Other outcomes may related to the difference in the strategies chosen by players in the social dilemma played at the first stage
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Cooperation rate is measured as the proportion of subjects choosing a cooperative strategy in the social dilemma.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Difference in the average cooperation rate in the first-stage versus robot (treated) and human (control) partners.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Cooperation rate is measured as the proportion of subjects choosing a cooperative action in the social dilemma.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
A number of university students will be asked to take part in a session of incentivized tasks.
Half of the sample will play against a humanoid robot, the other half against a human being
They will initially play a one-shot "Give-some" game, without knowing that it may be a second stage.
At the end of the stage, they will be asked to without knowing that it may be a second stage.
Experimental Design Details
A number of university students (700-1000) will be asked to participate in a session of incentivized tasks.
By means of a randomization procedure, half of the sample will play versus a humaoid robot (NAO, Softbanks Robotics), the other half versus a human being.
They will initially play a one-shot "Give-some" game, without knowing that it may be a second stage.
To half of the subject who cooperate, the partner, controlled by the experimenter, will respond in a non-cooperative way.
After the results of the first stage have been announced, to subjects who cooperate, but are reciprocated by non-cooperative behavior (in both treated and control groups), the partner will provide an explanation of his(its) non-cooperative behavior and ask for forgiveness.
A voice over (experimenter) will then ask the subject whether he/she would like to play again to the same game.
We use the average ratio of cooperative behavior in the second stage as a proxy of the attitude to restore trust towards the partner (human or robot).
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1
Sample size: planned number of observations
Between 700 and 1000 UCSC students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Between 350 and 500 students in each treatment arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The outcome is expressed in relative terms, within the interval 0-1. Our power analysis has been conducted on the following parameters: Power: 80% Alpha (threshold for statistical significance): 0.05 Treatment/Control ratio: 1 Mean and standard deviation are based on the meta-analysis by Mislin&Johnson (2011): Mean of the control group: 0.5 Standard deviation (common for both groups): 0.2 The Minimum Detectable Effect Size for the main outcomes is: - Lower bound sample size (700) : 0.0424 - Upper bound sample size (1000) : 0.0355 Assuming larger standard deviation: 0.3: - Lower bound sample size (700) : 0.0636 - Upper bound sample size (1000) : 0.0532
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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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