Awards and Social Image

Last registered on January 28, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Awards and Social Image
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008901
Initial registration date
January 27, 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
January 28, 2022, 10:37 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Arno Apffelstaedt
Affiliation
University of Cologne
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Louis Strang
PI Affiliation
University of Cologne
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-02-01
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Lab, Welfare
Additional Keywords
social image, real-effort task, prosocial behavior
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct an online experiment to study the effect of public awards and rankings on prosocial behavior and to measure the utility of public recognition.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Apffelstaedt, Arno and Louis Strang. 2022. "Awards and Social Image." AEA RCT Registry. January 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8901-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-02-01
Intervention End Date
2022-02-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
number of tasks solved, willingness to pay to seek out/avoid appearance in the ranking
list
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
time spent working
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Subjects work on a real-effort task that generates a piece-rate donation to a charity. Within-subjects, we vary whether a subject's performance in the task is private or published in a ranking list. Between-subjects, we vary whether the subject’s photo and first name are also displayed in the list, and for which ranks.
Experimental Design Details
Subjects work on a real-effort task that generates a piece-rate donation to a charity. Within-subjects, we vary whether a subject's performance in the task is private or published in a ranking list. Between-subjects, we vary whether the subject’s photo and first name are also displayed in the list, and for which ranks. There are three between-subjects treatments: (i) In the control condition (Anonymous), the ranking list is anonymous, i.e., it does not contain any photos or names of individual participants. (ii) In the Public condition, the ranking list displays the photo and name of each individual. (iii) In the Award condition, only the photos and names of the three highest ranking individuals are displayed.
Randomization Method
Treatments are randomized within sessions on the individual level. Treatments are randomly assigned to individual subjects by cycling through the treatments in the order of which subjects arrive in the online session.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
270
Sample size: planned number of observations
270
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
90
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences, University of Cologne
IRB Approval Date
2021-08-03
IRB Approval Number
210026AA
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