Decision Costs and Economics Rationality: Some Experimental Design Problems

Abstract

"When are controlled laboratory experiments valid tests of abstract political models? This paper touches on the general question of internal validity in the design of laboratory experiments. Using a number of (failed) examples from the author's own work, key threats to internal validity in experimentation are explored. While the focus of the paper is with testing models of rational choice, the concerns are equally applicable to any controlled laboratory environment testing an abstract theoretical model."