Scrutiny in Economic Experiments

Artificiality of Experimental Tasks and Environments

Self-Selection and Participant Pools in Economic Experiments

A key 2007 study examined why behavior in controlled economic experiments might not reflect real-world actions. Match each factor identified as a potential cause for this discrepancy with the scenario that best illustrates it.

Explaining Discrepancies Between Lab and Field Observations

In a university laboratory, an experiment finds that 80% of student participants, when given a $20 endowment, choose to give half of it to an anonymous peer. However, university records show that the average student donation to a campus-wide charity drive is less than $5 per year. Based on the central critiques of a prominent 2007 study on the external validity of lab experiments, which of the following provides the most comprehensive explanation for this discrepancy?

A central argument in critiques of laboratory-based economic experiments is that the artificiality and scrutiny of the lab environment systematically cause participants to behave more selfishly than they would in comparable real-world situations.

Evaluating Experimental Designs for External Validity

Effect of Stake Size on Lab–Field Behavioral Discrepancies