Part 3. Economics Experiment on Nudges and Choice Architecture
This experiment is designed to show how changes in the Choice Architecture can nudge students (the same students who earlier exhibited free riding behavior) to be more socially oriented.

The experiment should be conducted in two separate rooms, and will take about 15 to 20 minutes for each group. If possible it is best to use two teaching assistants for each room to administer the experiment. For the experiment portion of this project, the students are divided into two groups and given an initial amount of money. The initial amount of money can be the student's earnings from the previous public good experiment. Students are randomly assigned into either a 'Donation' group or a 'Refund' group. Each treatment group gets a set of receipts and envelopes. The receipts for the 'Donation' group and the 'Refund' group are included in the printed materials in Appendix 1. Prior to the experiment, receipts are filled out for each student with their names and total earnings. [1]

Students in the 'Donation' group should have the amount of money they started out with in their envelopes with the receipt stapled on the outside of the envelope. It may be convenient to have earnings rounded to an easy to deal with denomination, such as quarters, as dealing with pennies and nickels is more of an administrative challenge and doesn't change the results of the problem. The money should be in small denominations so that students have flexibility in making change for their donation amount. For the 'Refund' group, we do not put any money in the envelope and only clip the receipts on the envelopes.

For each group an oral presentation was prepared with an explanation and instructions. The instructions both included a very brief introduction of the conservation organization to which student will have the opportunity to donate.

For the 'Donation' group, the instructions and language for the oral presentation are as follows:

1. Please take the envelope that has your name.
2. Please sign the Confidentiality Form.
3. Fill out the receipt with the instructions clipped on the envelope.
4. Make sure the money in the envelope is the correct amount.
5. Please write the amount of money you would like to donate, and leave that amount in the envelope. Whatever you choose not to donate is yours to keep.
6. When you are ready, we will come and collect your form, receipt and envelope.
7. The class instructor will not know your decisions.

For the 'Refund' Group, the instructions and language for the oral presentation are as follows:

1. Please take the envelope that has your name.
2. Please sign the Confidentiality Form.
3. Fill out the receipt with the instructions clipped on the envelope, and write the amount of money you would like back.
4. When you are ready, we will come and collect your form, receipt and envelope.
5. We will return your refund in the envelope.
6. The class instructor will not know your decisions.

[1] Our university also requires receipts for accounting purposes.