AEA RCT Registry

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Evaluating the Impact of Preschool on Patience, Time Consistency and Commitment Demand

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0010891

Initial registration date

January 30, 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

February 07, 2023, 11:14 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

Amanda Chuan

Affiliation

Michigan State University

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Anya Samek

PI Affiliation

University of California at San Diego

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PI Name

Shreemayi Samujjwala

PI Affiliation

University of Pennsylvania

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Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2015-09-01

End date

2023-12-31

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

time preferences, patience, inconsistency, impulsivity, human capital

JEL code(s)

I21, I24, J24, I26

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

We use a field experiment to evaluate patience, time inconsistency and commitment demand among young children. We first show that patience at ages 5-10 positively predicts reading scores up to 4 years later, even when controlling for cognitive and executive function assessment scores. In contrast, time inconsistency and commitment demand do not predict reading scores. Second, we evaluate whether preschool affects patience. We leverage a field experiment that randomized children to different preschool curricula. We find that children who were offered the preschool curriculum focused on self-regulation make patient decisions in both periods of the experiment, whereas control children who were not offered the preschool intervention do not. Further, preschool helps children use commitment devices to manage their time inconsistency, but does not affect time inconsistency directly.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Chuan, Amanda, Anya Samek and Shreemayi Samujjwala. 2023. "Evaluating the Impact of Preschool on Patience, Time Consistency and Commitment Demand." AEA RCT Registry. February 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10891-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We use a pre-existing randomized controlled trial, called the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center (CHECC). CHECC randomized children to a preschool, a Parent Academy workshop, or the control group. Our paper will only use the preschool and control groups.

Within preschool, children were randomized to one of three curricula. Children who participated in 2010-2012 were randomized to either the Tools of the Mind curriculum or the Literacy Express curriculum. Preschool children who participated in 2012-2014 all received the CogX curriculum. The control group receives no daycare or preschool.

After children leave preschool, we revisit them in the elementary school classroom to elicit time preferences. Our task involves giving children the opportunity to choose between one glow bracelet tomorrow (sooner) or two glow bracelets the next day (later). We then surprise children with the opportunity to change their mind the next day, when the sooner option becomes available immediately. This enables us to capture patience and time inconsistency. The following week, we repeat the experiment. The only difference in execution is that after children make their first choice between one glow bracelet tomorrow or two glow bracelets the next day, we offer them a commitment device to help them stick to the option of two glow bracelets later.

Intervention Start Date

2015-09-01

Intervention End Date

2015-10-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

We measure patience by whether children choose the two bracelet option when they must wait for either option. We measure inconsistency by whether children change their mind when the one bracelet option becomes available immediately. We measure commitment demand using whether they take up the commitment device.

We correlate these measures with future academic and behavioral measures. These include standardized reading and math scores, number of disciplinary referrals, patience in future tasks, and risk preferences in future tasks.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We use a pre-existing randomized controlled trial, called the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center (CHECC). CHECC randomized children to a preschool, a Parent Academy workshop, or the control group. Our paper will only use the preschool and control groups.

Within preschool, children were randomized to one of three curricula. Children who participated in 2010-2012 were randomized to either the Tools of the Mind curriculum or the Literacy Express curriculum. Preschool children who participated in 2012-2014 all received the CogX curriculum. The control group receives no daycare or preschool.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

public lottery

Randomization Unit

Family. For families with one child of preschool age in 2010-2014, this will be equivalent to randomizing at the child level. For families with more than one child of preschool age in 2010-2014, all children will be randomized to the same treatment.

Was the treatment clustered?

No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

2000 families

Sample size: planned number of observations

2000 families, corresponding to approximately 2000 children

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

1132 in Control; 133 in Tools of the Mind; 136 in Literacy Express; 263 in CogX

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

University of Chicago Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board

IRB Approval Date

2010-05-27

IRB Approval Number

H10083

Analysis Plan