Cognitive uncertainty and cognitive abilities in preference elicitation

Last registered on April 02, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cognitive uncertainty and cognitive abilities in preference elicitation
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005541
Initial registration date
May 28, 2020

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
May 29, 2020, 3:38 PM EDT

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

Last updated
April 02, 2023, 2:08 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Greece
Region
Attiki

Primary Investigator

Name
Andreas Drichoutis
Affiliation
Agricultural University of Athens
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jayson Lusk
PI Affiliation
Purdue University
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PI Name
Rodolfo Nayga
PI Affiliation
University of Arkansa
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-11-01
End date
2023-05-15
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
preference elicitation, BDM mechanism, cognitive uncertainty, cognitive abilities
JEL code(s)
C91
Secondary IDs
C80, D44
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The aim of the study is to examine how cognitive uncertainty is moderated by cognitive ability in preference elicitation research. Moreover, it is examined whether subjects under higher cognitive uncertainty are more likely to accept to have their choice be replaced with a bid that maximizes subjects' expected payoff and whether replacing their choice varies with increasing cost levels.

* This is an updated experiment that was cancelled due to covid
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Drichoutis, Andreas, Jayson Lusk and Rodolfo Nayga. 2023. "Cognitive uncertainty and cognitive abilities in preference elicitation." AEA RCT Registry. April 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5541-2.3
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Subjects' preferences in an induced value BDM task will be elicited. Subjects will be allowed to express their uncertainty about their selected bid on a 0 to 10 scale. Subjects will then be asked to have their bid replaced with a payoff maximizing bid. The cost of replacing the bid will vary within-subjects.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-01
Intervention End Date
2023-05-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Bid deviations from induced values, the level of their cognitive uncertainty, and whether or not they select to purchase the payoff-maximizing bid in relation to their cognitive ability.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
There will be a 3x3x2 within-subjects treatments varying the induced values, the cost of purchasing the payoff-maximizing bid and the upper level of the support.

Experimental Design Details
See intervention.
Randomization Method
Computer will do all randomizations i.e. will randomize order of treatments within subjects.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
200*18=3600
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
at least 200 subjects
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
With N=200 we can detect a difference between d=0.125 and 0.338 in bids depending on the assumptions about sigma and the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient across rounds.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Texas A&M University
IRB Approval Date
2022-05-10
IRB Approval Number
141837
IRB Name
Agricultural University of Athens
IRB Approval Date
2020-03-27
IRB Approval Number
14
Analysis Plan

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