Memory and Financial Decisions

Last registered on January 30, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Memory and Financial Decisions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010812
Initial registration date
January 27, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 30, 2023, 2:04 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Alessandro Castagnetti
Affiliation
LIUC University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Giovanni Burro
PI Affiliation
Bocconi
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-01-28
End date
2023-05-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Memory, Financial Decisions, Financial Literacy.
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This research project aims to understand whether and how memories and personal experiences about the stock market influence invesment choices and attitudes towards uncertainty. In particular, here we want to study whether positive (negative) memories positively (negative) drives investment choices. Moreover, we further studer whether and how the provision of information interacts with previous personal experiences and memories.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Burro, Giovanni and Alessandro Castagnetti. 2023. "Memory and Financial Decisions ." AEA RCT Registry. January 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10812-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-01-28
Intervention End Date
2023-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Investment Financial Decisions
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The main outcome variable of this research is to assess the impact of the elicitation of memories and its interaction with information provision on investment choices.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1. Beliefs about the stock
2. Confidence of participants in their own choices
3. The heterogenous effect of memory and information provision in terms of financial literacy and demographics
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
At the outset of the experiment, participants will be asked to think of what sort of memories financial markets trigger in them (memories are not elicited in the control conditions). Following this, in some conditions participants will receive information about the stock they will be asked to invest. Thus, participants are asked to make a financial investment decision and are asked about their attitudes toward uncertainty. Finally, at the end of the experiment, participants will perform a simple financial literacy questionnaire and will be asked some demographic questions.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Done by the computer software (Qualtrics).
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N=1200
Sample size: planned number of observations
N=1200 However, if the funding is depleted sooner the total number of observations will be lower. In particular, priority will be given to the first 4 conditions.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
200 individuals by condition.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Considering a mean investment of 60% of the pot (18 units out of 30) as a baseline and a standard deviation of 0.8, the experiment is able to detect a change of around 13% at conventional levels (alpha=0.05, 1-beta=0.80)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Università commerciale Luigi Bocconi
IRB Approval Date
2023-01-26
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan