Author(s)

• John A List

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Abstract

List Experiments are widely used across the social sciences to measure sensitive attitudes and behaviors, yet no prior study has validated their estimates against an incentive-compatible behavioral measure. I conduct a field experiment with 400 subjects at a sports card show, combining List Experiment treatments for willingness to pay, one for wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone Park, one for a graded sports card, with a Vickrey second-price auction that provides a real-money benchmark. The List Experiment estimates 26% would pay $50 for the card, compared to 22% who bid at least that amount in the auction; this difference is not statistically significant. These results provide the first criterion validity test of a List Experiment and suggest the method holds promise as a parsimonious alternative to conventional stated preference approaches in settings where survey space constraints preclude standard bias-mitigation interventions.