Relative skewness preferences and sample draws

Last registered on December 23, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Relative skewness preferences and sample draws
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008723
Initial registration date
December 20, 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 23, 2021, 9:59 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
China
Region
Beijing

Primary Investigator

Name
Moritz Loewenfeld
Affiliation
Toulouse School of Economics
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jiakun Zheng
PI Affiliation
Renmin University of China
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-12-23
End date
2021-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Labor
Additional Keywords
Risk Taking, Salience Theory, Regret Theory
JEL code(s)
D81
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
Salience theory and Regret Theory predict that choices between two lotteries are driven not only by the marginal distributions of the lotteries, but also by the correlation between the two lotteries. In particular, both theories predict a preference for relative skewness. Our previous work has documented a precisely estimated null effect of relative skewness on non-repeated lottery choices. In a setting in which participants make repeated choices with outcome feedback, we observe a strong tendency to choose lotteries with a negative relative skewness. In this pilot, we explore whether similar choice patterns obtain in a setting in which, instead of outcome feedback on their past choices, individuals receive sample draws from the lotteries they choose from.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Loewenfeld, Moritz and Jiakun Zheng. 2021. "Relative skewness preferences and sample draws ." AEA RCT Registry. December 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8723-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We run an online experiment with students from Renmin University of China.Participants make multiple repeated choices between two lotteries and answer a survey. Five participants are selected randomly. For each of these five participants, one of the lottery choices is randomly selected, and participants are paid on the basis of this choice.

For a detailed description of the experimental design and the lotteries we employ, see the document "Experiment_design".
Intervention Start Date
2021-12-23
Intervention End Date
2021-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Choice reversals due to changes in the correlation structure, and frequency of choices of the lottery with a higher relative skewness.
For a detailed description of our variables and their construction, see the document "PAP".
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
For a detailed description of the experimental design, see the document "Experiment_design".
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
About 30 participants.
Sample size: planned number of observations
About 30 participants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
About 30 participants.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Lab of National Governance and Development, Renmin University of China
IRB Approval Date
2021-12-20
IRB Approval Number
RUCecon-202112-2
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