ToM and Strategic Games

Last registered on May 28, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
ToM and Strategic Games
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005937
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 28, 2020, 3:10 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Wanqun Zhao
Affiliation
UCSD
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Charles Sprenger
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-05-20
End date
2019-11-30
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study aims to collect data both on strategic decision-making and on individual’s ability of assessing other’s intentions, beliefs and emotions, known as Theory of Mind (ToM). We use a sets of ring game (Kneeland, 2015) as well as our altered version ring game with focal strategies, as a measure of strategic sophistication. Particularly, we are interested to see if subject's level of strategic sophistication is sensitive to the focal strategy we created, and whether subjects are able to perform best responses when strategic uncertainty is reduced. We use an eye-gaze test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) as a measure of ToM ability. We conduct a laboratory experiment with 200 subjects.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Sprenger, Charles and Wanqun Zhao. 2020. "ToM and Strategic Games." AEA RCT Registry. May 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5937-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2019-05-20
Intervention End Date
2019-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
order or rationality for two sets of ring games, eye gaze test score
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In a laboratory setting at University of California - San Diego, we run a two stage experiment. In the first stage, we ask the subjects to complete 36 eye gaze tasks. For stage two, we randomize the subjects into groups of four. The subjects play a sets of 20 ring games, and stay within the same group.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Subjects take a randomized seat number when they enter the lab.
Randomization Unit
We randomize at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
200 subjects
Sample size: planned number of observations
200
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
200
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UCSD Human Research Protections Program (HRPP)
IRB Approval Date
2018-02-06
IRB Approval Number
180076
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

ToM and Strategic Games: Pre-Analysis Plan

MD5: 4187ad1531394221b82b053f99ed51c6

SHA1: b07955d8cdbeda8126e266fdac2541f832531a8b

Uploaded At: May 28, 2020

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