Demand for Feedback

Last registered on August 01, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Demand for Feedback
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009698
Initial registration date
July 05, 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
July 08, 2022, 9:24 AM EDT

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

Last updated
August 01, 2022, 4:12 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-04-14
End date
2022-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
In a world of incomplete information, individuals make decisions based on more or less precise beliefs about their own ability. One important determinant in the formation of beliefs about one’s ability are comparisons to others. This study’s aims are twofold: i) understanding the individual determinants of the demand for relative feedback as well as ii) understanding the effects of receiving individual feedback about one’s own performance on job search.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hensel, Lukas et al. 2022. "Demand for Feedback." AEA RCT Registry. August 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9698-2.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-05-05
Intervention End Date
2022-10-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Beliefs about relative performance in Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), job search intentions and effort, career expectations and aspirations (See PAP for details)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We invite job seekers to a survey-based assessment of their skills, among them a test of general intelligence (Raven's Progressive Matrices or RPM). Approximately one week after the assessment of skills, individuals receive feedback about their performance in the test relative to other job seekers. We implement two different interventions: a control condition in which subjects do not receive any feedback about their ability and a treatment group directly receiving unsolicited feedback.
Experimental Design Details
The research design is implemented as a field experiment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We invite job seekers to participate in a baseline survey and an assessment center. Within the baseline survey, subjects participate in a battery of tests for cognitive and non-cognitive skills, including an extensive test of general intelligence (Raven test). During the baseline survey, we also elicit every respondent’s willingness to pay for relative feedback based on incentivized survey questions. We further elicit prior beliefs about relative ability compared to other job seekers.

Approximately one week after participation in the baseline survey, participants are contacted again via phone. In the control condition, participants are reminded about the assessment center and then participate in a short survey. In the feedback condition, participants are additionally provided with feedback about their relative performance in the RPM test in comparison with other job seekers in a previous sample from 2019.

Three to five weeks after the initial baseline survey, we conduct a follow-up survey with all individuals.
Randomization Method
Stratified randomization after baseline data collection in batches using Stata.
Randomization Unit
All individuals which participated in a baseline survey each week.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Number of clusters is equal to number of observations.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We expect the experiment to run for about five months. All individuals that participate in the baseline survey will participate in the experiment and will be randomized into treatments.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
All treatments will be sampled with an equal weight of 1/2.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
PKU GSM-IRB
IRB Approval Date
2022-03-23
IRB Approval Number
#2022-06
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