Q&A: Jamie Moss, Behavioural Research Lab (LSE)
We talk about running behavioural experiments in the Behavioural Research Lab at LSE, one of the most recognized behavioral research labs in the world
Normally, running behavioral research goes hand-to-hand with running lab experiments whether it is just a pilot study or a full-scale experiment. One of the highly recognized places for running lab experiments is Behavioural Research Lab (BRL) at the London School of Economics & Political Science. Even if you are outside of academia, it is simply impossible to miss it whenever one searches any of the search engines for the list of behavioural labs. I can proudly say that it is an honor for our team at the Expilab Research to be included into BRL (LSE) preferred partners list and provide support with programming and design of the behavioural studies.
While BRL was enjoying quietness of the summer time, I have managed not only to get a sneak-peak of the latest upgrades to BRL facilities (really cool upgrades I must say) but also to ask few questions to Jamie Moss, Behavioural Research Lab Manager about the specifics (hidden sides) of running laboratory experiments at LSE. Not only we talk about key things not to forget, but we also tried to understand the kind of feedback that participants share after completing experiments.
Q: How long have you been with BRL? What were the most comic situations you have encountered while running lab experiments?
A: I’ve been at the BRL for around three and a half years, on and off. I’m not sure we’ve had many comic situations but the strangest thing was when the BBC came in to record a documentary on behavioural science, turned off all the lights, replaced them with a handful of lamps and made us operate in the dark for the rest of the day to make the scenes more dramatic!
Q: Now, lets get a bit more serious. There are quite a few labs in London and its vicinity, but what are the strongest sides of BRL compared to others? Do you have any collaboration efforts?
A: Our biggest strengths are our flexibility and our location. We’re open to all researchers across the LSE and can accommodate a wide range of experimental research from experimental economics to decision sciences to social psychology. We’re also based right on the middle of one of the busiest parts of London which is great for recruiting participants as we have our own students and staff, students from other London universities as well as people working in companies nearby who take part in our lab studies. There’s often collaboration between researchers, but we haven’t done anything between labs.
Q: Obviously, in order to run a laboratory experiments there are quite a few things to think ahead. While BRL’s FAQ quite thoroughly goes through each point, what are the key points that slips from the memory of research fellows who intend to run a lab study?
A: You can never be too organised when it comes to planning. Obtaining cash can sometimes be time-consuming and researchers don’t always allow as much time as they should. They also often don’t realise how busy they will be when running of the experiment, and we usually recommend recruiting one of our willing research assistants to make things a little easier.
Q: While it is clear what happens before and during (hopefully!) experiment, I am curious about reactions of the participants to the experiments they just completed. What kind of reactions you typically observe after participants complete, perhaps, longer studies? Any common complains?
A: Most of our studies are only 30 minutes or an hour long, so these are no longer (and arguably more interesting) than the lectures many of our participants will sit in. Most are just satisfied with earning some extra money and having taken part in a (usually) fun task, but a surprising amount will be interested in the research itself and will contact the researcher to ask them more about the objective of the study.
Q: I know that participation slots fill in quite fast. Are there any patterns of preferences for the type of experiments offered for participation (attitudes after completing studies)?
A: Not really! As long as the a study pays a fair amount of money and there aren’t many restrictions on who can take part, most of our studies will fill up very quickly. Some people like the interactivity of the psychology experiments whilst others would prefer to only interact with computers!
Q: When are the best and the worst time periods for running laboratory experiments? Perhaps, not many participants are willing to take part in the studies in August or early January? Are tips for planning timing of the lab studies?
A: We’re open all year round except the Easter and Christmas holidays, but there are a few times during the year when it’s more difficult to recruit large numbers. Early January as many students are still away for the holidays, late May/early June when students are kept busy with exam season, and August when the campus is very quiet indeed. Fortunately these are often the same periods that faculty members are away or busy, so there is less demand on the lab to run studies during these periods.
Again, I would like to personally thank Jamie (BRL) for taking time to respond to our questions that, perhaps, may help scholars or lab managers to plan laboratory experiments better.
2017 UPDATE: Jamie Moss is no longer associated with Behavioural Research Lab at LSE. The latest BRL contacts may be found here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/management/research/brl/find-us
Uri Gneezy is Renown scholar in individual decision-making and behavioral economics fields the Epstein/Atkinson Endowed Chair in Behavioral Economics and Professor of Economics & Strategy at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
Uri Gneezy is Renown scholar in individual decision-making and behavioral economics fields the Epstein/Atkinson Endowed Chair in Behavioral Economics and Professor of Economics & Strategy at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego The Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, commonly referred to as Barcelona GSE, is an independent institution of research and graduate education located in Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. Banco Sabadell is the fourth-largest banking group funded by private Spanish capital. It includes several banks, brands, subsidiary and holding companies spanning the whole range of financial business.
Video presentation of the key design features of the project “Study on online gambling and adequate measures for the protection of consumers of gambling services”
Expilab has found its new independent home, inheriting the expertise and team from Gravitas Research's Behavioral and Experimental Research group. Reflecting on our journey, including significant projects like NHS Choices with top institutions, we're proud of our growth and achievements. Last year, Expilab conducted large-scale experiments for the European Commission, engaging over 30,000 participants across 13 EU member states. Now, as a smaller, more flexible team, we look forward to innovative research and engaging with you through our new website and blog. Join us in exploring the future of behavioural research.
After the announcement of WhatsApp on its new terms of use of users’ data, we feel that somehow full transparency of privacy concerns is not always the best strategy to gain credibility.
How companies can increase personal data consent? Consumers’ reluctance to reveal their personal information is primarily triggered by the lack of adequate info, so companies can address that by providing clear and direct information of destination and purpose of data collected.
Movers & Shakers interview with Dr. Heather Kappes (LSE) about how people spend, what economic research and economic experiments have taught us, and which research findings might be relevant for post COVID19 life.
“Game of Life”, an interactive spending game played at Science Museum (London) build by Expilab investigates how and why we spend our money the way we do
The European Union (EU) began the implementation of the GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation) in May 2018 with the aim of developing a legal framework that provides more control over the use of personal data obtained through online services or databases. Today, the discussion has begun in countries such as Brazil with the aim of providing users with greater security and knowledge of their actions, and to avoid repeating episodes such as Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
La Unión Europea dio inicio a la implementación del GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation) en mayo de 2018 con la que busca crear un marco jurídico que brinde más control sobre el uso que se dan a los datos personales obtenidos a través de servicios en línea o bases de datos. Hoy en día, se ha iniciado la discusión en países como Brasil con el objetivo de brindar a los usuarios mayor seguridad y conocimiento de sus acciones en el tema y a su vez, evitar que se repitan episodios como el de Cambridge Analytica y Facebook.
This article presents the results of a laboratory experiment and an online multi-country experiment testing the effect of motor vehicle eco-labels on consumers. The laboratory study featured a discrete choice task and questions on comprehension, while the ten countries online experiment included measures of willingness to pay and comprehension. Labels focusing on fuel economy or running costs are better understood, and influence choice about money-related eco-friendly behavior. We suggest that this effect comes through mental accounting of fuel economy. In the absence of a cost-saving frame, we do not find a similar effect of information on CO2 emissions and eco-friendliness. Labels do not perform as well as promotional materials. Being embedded into a setting, which is designed to capture the attention, the latter are more effective. We found also that large and expensive cars tend to be undervalued once fuel economy is highlighted.
Our approach combines the power of Behavioural Science and Human-Centered Design to craft innovative products and experiences that resonate with what people truly want and need.
Get started now: Share your ideas for a no-obligation and friendly chat with us!
We deliver end-to-end 360-degree research solutions, managing everything from programming complex behavioural experiments to recruitment of participants and statistical analysis.
Tell us how we can help you. We can confidentially discuss your ideas without any obligations from your side!
Do you need participants for your experiments? We have access to 100M+ participants (panelists) from 100+ countries in the world.
assist@expilab.com
