Collective Rituals and Nation-Building: A Youth Camp Experiment in India

2022-12-19

2022-12-31

Endline survey one month after the camps end:
- Group identification (Indian vs. Hindu/Muslim)
- Measures of intergroup (Hindu-Muslim) preferences and behaviours
- Social networks
- Democratic values, knowledge, and political preferences.
- [Details to be added following the completion of the camps, but prior to the launch of the endline.]

Measurement during the camps (primarily for mechanisms):
- Daily question cards completed by all campers with four questions on happiness, identity fusion, friendships with teammates, and level of excitement during the camp. On lecture days, we will have one additional question on knowledge/memory of the material.
- Daily surveys on tablets completed by 12 campers per camp per day with questions on: identity fusion, friendships, emotions, self-esteem, emotional synchrony
- Data on camp activities recorded by observers, including: team photographs, engagement with rituals, organic (unplanned) rituals, captains chosen by teams (for sports)
- Richer measurement during specific activities: voting patterns during mock elections, performance and beliefs about teammates during structured game, group performance measures

Endline survey one month after the camps end:
- [Details of secondary outcomes in the endline to be added following the completion of the camps, but prior to the launch of the endline.]

We have recruited 412 boys (270 Hindus and 142 Muslims) aged 13 to 18 in West Bengal, and randomly assigned them to:

1. Regular Camp (N = 120) – free 12-day camp. The camp will include talks and games designed to impart democratic and universalist values.
2. Ritual Camp (N = 120) – free 12-day camp held concurrently with the Regular Camp. This camp will include the same activities, but will additionally contain “Durkheimian” ritualized features (flag-raising, synchronized singing and dancing, common uniforms, etc.)
3. Control Group (N = 172) – these boys were not invited to attend either camp.

The two camps will take place from December 19th to 31st, with a day off on December 25th. They will take place in the same location (a stadium), with one camp taking the morning session each day, and the other camp taking the afternoon session – alternating each day.

Our primary interest is in comparing endline outcomes between these groups, with (1) vs. (3) capturing the effect of the camp, and (1) vs. (2) capturing the effect of collective rituals.

Those assigned to the camps have been randomly assigned to groups of 10 (24 groups of 10 in total, across the two camps). Most of the camp activities will be done in these groups. For each camp, groups have been randomly assigned such that:
- 6 groups have 5 Muslims and 5 Hindus each
- 6 groups have 2 Muslims and 8 Hindus each

This cross-cutting variation allows us to test for the effects of intergroup contact, and explore whether these effects differ by whether the camp has rituals or not.

Randomization done in the office in STATA. Randomization to camps stratified by religion, wave (2 waves of randomization), and below- vs. above-median baseline feeling thermometer score for Narendra Modi. No stratification for randomization to groups within each camp.

Individual-level (with only one eligible boy per household).

No

412 boys.

412 boys.

120 boys in Regular Camp.
120 boys in Ritual Camp.
172 boys in Control Group.