Université de Lausanne
Faculté des HEC
Département d'économétrie et d'économie politique

Cahier de recherches économiques du DEEP No. 13.03

Catherine Roux and Christian Thöni

Do Control Questions Influence Behavior in Experiments?

March 2013

Abstract
Outcomes and strategies shown in control questions prior to experimental play may provide subjects with anchors or induce experimenter demand effects. In a Cournot oligopoly experiment we explore whether control questions influence subjects' choices in initial periods and over the course of a repeated game. We vary the framing of the control question to explore the cause of potential influences. We find no evidence for an influence of the control question on choices, neither in the first period nor later in the game.

Keywords: B41; C72; C91

JEL classification: Control questions; Experimenter demand effects; Anchoring; Experimental design