Integrative experiment design reveals hidden patterns in decades-old social science research

Research from MIT Sloan School of Management has demonstrated a new way of designing social science experiments that can uncover patterns invisible to common approaches. In their paper titled "Integrative experiments identify how punishment affects welfare in public goods games," published in Science, MIT Sloan associate professor Abdullah Almaatouq and recent MIT Sloan Ph.D. graduate in Information Technology Mohammed Alsobay, alongside Cornell University professor David G. Rand and University of Pennsylvania professor Duncan J. Watts, have shown what becomes possible when researchers move beyond studying factors in isolation.