Mind-Wandering 2

Last registered on June 15, 2022

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Mind-Wandering 2

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0009550

Initial registration date

June 06, 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 15, 2022, 10:06 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Region

Country

Ireland

Region

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Lucas Coffman

Affiliation

Boston College

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Ian Krajbich

PI Affiliation

Ohio State

PI Name

Hannu Kivimaki

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2022-06-07

End date

2022-09-01

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

This project investigates fundamental economic questions about mind-wandering.
Note this is connected to AEARCTR-0008811. Those data, as outlined in that registration, will be used in this study.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Coffman, Lucas, Hannu Kivimaki and Ian Krajbich. 2022. "Mind-Wandering 2." AEA RCT Registry. June 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9550-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We vary (but do not include every possible cell; details below)
The costs of unintentional mind-wandering
Whether there is a working-memory burdensome task
Whether there is a reminder of the penalties after the working-memory task
Whether the working-memory task is at the beginning or 2/3 of the way through the study
Whether the task is fun

Intervention Start Date

2022-06-07

Intervention End Date

2022-09-01

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)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

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?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Sample size: planned number of observations

See below

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

We will collect batches of 50 observations per treatment arm starting 6/7/2022. We will stop each treatment once the standard error of its estimated treatment effect is below 0.16. See Analysis plan for details.
The treatment effects considered are:
1 vs 2
3 vs 1
4 vs 5
6 vs 7
8 vs 1

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB