Measuring and Bounding Experimenter Demand

Jonathan de Quidt, Johannes Haushofer and Christopher Roth

No 23470, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We propose a technique for assessing robustness of behavioral measures and treatment effects to experimenter demand effects. The premise is that by deliberately inducing demand in a structured way we can measure its influence and construct plausible bounds on demand-free behavior. We provide formal restrictions on choice that validate our method, and a Bayesian model that microfounds them. Seven pre-registered experiments with eleven canonical laboratory games and around 19,000 participants demonstrate the technique. We also illustrate how demand sensitivity varies by task, participant pool, gender, real versus hypothetical incentives, and participant attentiveness, and provide both reduced-form and structural analyses of demand effects.

JEL-codes: B41 C91 C92 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-upt
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

Published as Jonathan de Quidt & Johannes Haushofer & Christopher Roth, 2018. "Measuring and Bounding Experimenter Demand," American Economic Review, vol 108(11), pages 3266-3302.

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Journal Article: Measuring and Bounding Experimenter Demand (2018)
Working Paper: Measuring and Bounding Experimenter Demand (2017)
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