Exogenous versus Endogenous Peer Comparisons in the Lab

Last registered on December 14, 2021
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Exogenous versus Endogenous Peer Comparisons in the Lab
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008023
Initial registration date
December 11, 2021

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
December 14, 2021, 3:55 PM EST

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
Daniel Banko-Ferran
Affiliation
University of Pittsburgh
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-09-13
End date
2021-12-15
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
Peer Comparisons, Effort, Motivation
JEL code(s)
D90, D91, C91
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
I propose to conduct a lab experiment in which some participants will be given the choice between opting into whether they receive information about their performance relative to their peers or not, and compare their subsequent behavior to those who were randomly not given the choice. This study will seek to disentangle the effect that forcing participants to receive peer information or not may have in contributing to the adverse responses observed in the literature.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Banko-Ferran, Daniel. 2021. "Exogenous versus Endogenous Peer Comparisons in the Lab." AEA RCT Registry. December 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8023-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We test participant sensitivity to feedback on a performance task and their decisions to receive feedback on the task.
Specifically we ask if participants who receive feedback perform worse on average than those that do not receive feedback, and if those who can choose to receive feedback or not do best.
Intervention Start Date
2021-12-02
Intervention End Date
2021-12-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Effort (measured as number of tasks completed)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Three treatments: No Peer Comparison (NC), Peer Comparison (PC), Flexible Comparison (FC). Participants randomly assigned to one of the three treatments at the session level. Participants enter the lab and perform a keyboard pressing task through a computer terminal simultaneously across multiple rounds. Instructions are delivered verbally, through the computer screen, and through a print out. Sessions lasted 60 minutes. Participants were paid a piece-rate payment based on the number of key presses they completed in the round randomly selected for payment. In between rounds, PC participants received information about their relative performance on the task (top 20%, top 50%, bottom 50%). FC participants could choose to receive this information or not. NC participants did not receive this relative peer information.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
experimental sessions
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6 experimental sessions
Sample size: planned number of observations
126 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2 clusters per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Pittsburgh
IRB Approval Date
2021-08-02
IRB Approval Number
STUDY21040013
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