Experimental methods: When and why contextual instructions are important
Experimental methods: When and why contextual instructions are important
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jebo.2016.12.005
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发表时间：
2017-02-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Gneezy, Uri
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alekseev, Aleksandr;Charness, Gary;Gneezy, Uri
实验研究中一个重要的方法论问题是在实验指导中应该在多大程度上使用上下文丰富的或抽象的语言。实验经济学中抽象语境的传统使用通常被视为实现实验控制的一种方式。然而，使用上下文框架说明也有一些优势，例如，使用“雇主和工人”而不是“玩家1和玩家2”。有意义的情境可以增强对环境的理解，减少参与者之间的困惑，特别是当一项任务需要复杂的推理时，因此可能会产生更高质量的反应。在污染或贿赂等情绪化的研究问题中，语境指导可能会影响实验中的行为，但这种影响可能是适当的，因为它与研究问题有关。我们对文献证据的回顾表明，在大多数情况下，有意义的语言要么是有用的，要么不会改变行为。然而，在使用丰富的上下文时，有几个重要的考虑事项值得牢记。最后，我们认为情境的选择是实验者工具包的扩展，也是实验设计中需要考虑的一个因素。(C)2016爱思唯尔B.V.保留所有权利。
An important methodological issue in experimental research is the extent to which one should use context-rich or abstract language in the instructions for an experiment. The traditional use of abstract context in experimental economics is commonly viewed as a way to achieve experimental control. However, there are some advantages to using context framed instructions, such as "employer and worker" instead of "player 1 and player 2." Meaningful context can enhance understanding of an environment and reduce confusion among participants, particularly when a task requires sophisticated reasoning, and hence may yield responses of better quality. In emotionally-charged research questions, such as pollution or bribes, contextual instructions may affect behavior in the experiment, but this effect may be appropriate as it relates to the research question. Our review of the evidence from the literature indicates that in the great majority of cases meaningful language is either useful or produces no change in behavior. Nevertheless, a few important considerations are worth keeping in mind when using rich context. Finally, we see the choice of context as being an expansion of the experimenter's toolkit and a factor to consider in experimental design. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.