IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/21932.html

Time Costs and Behaviour Across Participant Pools

Author

Listed:
  • Gonçalves, Duarte
  • Zarate-Pina, Julen
  • Kneeland, Terri

Abstract

University laboratory samples often produce cleaner experimental data than broader online samples such as Prolific. We examine whether this gap reflects differences in the opportunity cost of time. In an experiment spanning laboratory and online participant pools, we exogenously vary both the cost of deliberation and task complexity. Online participants are faster and less accurate at baseline. Raising time costs in the laboratory lowers accuracy, while reducing the return to answering quickly online improves it. Participant-pool differences arise where deliberation is both costly and productive, linking external validity to experimental design and task complexity.

Suggested Citation

  • Gonçalves, Duarte & Zarate-Pina, Julen & Kneeland, Terri, 2026. "Time Costs and Behaviour Across Participant Pools," CEPR Discussion Papers 21932, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21932
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cepr.org/publications/DP21932
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21932. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CEPR (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://cepr.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.