Group size, gender composition and honesty

Last registered on July 02, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Group size, gender composition and honesty
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008564
Initial registration date
November 18, 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
November 21, 2021, 4:14 PM EST

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

Last updated
July 02, 2024, 4:27 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Niklas Wallmeier
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Andreas Roider
PI Affiliation
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PI Name
Timo Promann
PI Affiliation
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PI Name
Gerd Muehlheusser
PI Affiliation
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-07-03
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Lab
Additional Keywords
collective decision-making, group decisions
JEL code(s)
C91, C92, J16
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Main trial: We investigate the influence of group size and gender composition on collective ethical desicion-making. In an online experiment, groups of 2, 3, 4, or 5 persons have to report unanimously the outcome of a die roll, which determines their monetary payoff. Each composition with respect to the number of men and women in a group is equally likely within each group size. The members of a group see the same video and interact in a video chat. Moreover, we elicit a set of social preferences, a measure of individual honesty, a measure of cognitive ability, and a measure of social cognition.

Follow up treatments: One main finding of the main trial is that all-male groups lie more than almost-all-male groups (i.e. groups with exactly one female member). In these treatments, we investigate two alternative channels that might drive this finding: Gender-specific honesty beliefs and gender-specific image concerns. The two new treatments will again compare the behavior of all-male and almost-all-male groups. They
use the same design and implementation as the main trial with the following changes: i) the group decision is reached by majority rule (rather than unanimity), and (ii) we focus on triads.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Muehlheusser, Gerd et al. 2024. "Group size, gender composition and honesty." AEA RCT Registry. July 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8564-1.2
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Main trial: Random allocation of subjects to treatment groups (group size and gender composition) via online experiment.

Follow-up treatments: Random allocation of subjects to treatment groups of three (all-male groups and almost-all-male groups) via online experiment.
Intervention Start Date
2024-07-03
Intervention End Date
2024-08-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Reporting behavior of groups to measure honesty
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Main trial: In an online experiment, groups of 2, 3, 4, or 5 persons have to report unanimously the outcome of a die roll, which determines their monetary payoff. Each composition with respect to the number men and women in a group is equally likely within each group size. The members of a group see the same video and interact in a video chat. We plan to compare the behavior of groups with the behavior of individuals.

Follow-up treatments: The two new treatments use the same design and implementation as the main trial with the following changes: i) the group decision is reached by majority rule (rather than unanimity), and (ii) we focus on groups of three (all-male and almost-all-male groups).
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer
Randomization Unit
Experimental sessions
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Main trial: 20 observations per group size and gender composition

Follow-up treatments: 40 observations for both all-male and almost-all-male groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
Main trial: 20 observations per group size and gender composition Follow-up treatments: 40 observations for both all-male and almost-all-male groups
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Main trial: 20 observations per group size and gender composition

Follow-up treatments: 40 observations for both all-male and almost-all-male groups
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 Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Dean's office
IRB Approval Date
2018-11-07
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan