Mind-wandering

Last registered on June 06, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Mind-wandering
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008811
Initial registration date
June 02, 2022

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
June 06, 2022, 5:51 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region
Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Boston College

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Ohio State
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-06-02
End date
2022-06-06
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Our minds wander frequently. This project overall aims to answer basic economic questions about this process. This registration is only for preliminary data collection in the first two baseline treatments. A second registration will be linked to this (or this will be appended).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Coffman, Lucas, Hannu Kivimaki and Ian Krajbich. 2022. "Mind-wandering." AEA RCT Registry. June 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8811-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We vary
1. The costs of making a mistake in a sustained attention task
Intervention Start Date
2022-06-02
Intervention End Date
2022-06-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our main measure of mind-wandering is the total number of mistakes made in the “main task” portion of the study. Mistakes are the sum of incorrect answers and answers not provided in the allotted time.
We will look at how this varies with respect to the intervention, how it varies over time, whether incorrect answers or late answers are more prevalent, how common mistakes are versus the use of a pause button, as well as correlates with survey measures.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
NA

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment measures whether a subject is on task using a sustained attention to response task: Words flash on the screen one-at-a-time, and every so often, the sequence stops. At this point, the participant is required to recall what the most recent word that was shown, choosing from four options. Every time they provide an incorrect answer or the answer is too late, they have to do additional tasks to earn their payment.

Note this is being done online, through Prolific.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done within the Qualtrics survey, according to prescribed ratios.
Randomization Unit
Randomization is done at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
NA
Sample size: planned number of observations
300
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
150 in each arm, stratifying on gender
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Though we are randomizing an intervention, this data collection is only preliminary. These data will be used to (i) provide stylized facts about mind-wandering, (ii) calibrate power calculations for other treatments, and (iii) be pooled with future data in these cells for analysis of the treatment effect of varying the size of the extrinsic penalty of providing incorrect or late answers.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Boston College Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2021-10-28
IRB Approval Number
22.114.01e

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