The role of affect labeling in reducing anxiety: some experimental evidence

Last registered on March 30, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The role of affect labeling in reducing anxiety: some experimental evidence
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011142
Initial registration date
March 23, 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
March 30, 2023, 3:28 PM EDT

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

Last updated
March 30, 2023, 5:50 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
UFRJ

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
UERJ

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-09-13
End date
2021-09-14
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Affect labeling, the process of putting feelings into words, has been shown in neuroscientific studies to have a calming effect on the brain and to reduce anxiety. This study examines the impact of affect labeling on self-reported levels of anxiety. We conducted an online experiment with three hundred participants from the United States, who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a treatment group. Both groups were exposed to news about a violent crime and then asked to report their level of anxiety. The treatment group also had the opportunity to express their feelings in an unrestricted way before reporting their anxiety level. Our results show that affect labeling has a significant negative effect on self-reported anxiety levels, suggesting that it can be an effective tool for reducing anxiety generated by negative news.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hemsley, Pedro and Lynda Pavão. 2023. "The role of affect labeling in reducing anxiety: some experimental evidence." AEA RCT Registry. March 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11142-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We present news about a violent crime to all subjects. The treatment consists in going through a short questionnaire (around one minute to complete) in which subjects may describe the way they feel in an unrestricted way.

The whole experiment was conducted online: we used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to obtain the sample, and Qualtrics to run the experiment.
Intervention Start Date
2021-09-13
Intervention End Date
2021-09-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We want to learn the impact of affect labeling on self-reported levels of anxiety after subjects received information about a violent crime.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We developed an affect labeling questionnaire that allows subjects to express their emotions in an unrestricted way. This questionnaire was based on the following sources: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); the Satisfaction With Life Scale; the Perceived Stress Scale; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; and the Subjective Happiness Scale.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Subjects are randomly split into a control group and a treatment group. Both groups initially receive information about a violent crime, in a detailed way - the objective is to generate an emotional responde. Then the treatment groups goes through the affect labeling questionnaire. Lastly, both groups report their levels of anxiety.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Qualtrics randomization tool
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
130 before exclusions of participants that failed the verification questions; 121 after exclusion
Sample size: planned number of observations
130 before exclusions of participants that failed the verification questions; 121 after exclusion
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
60 individuals in the treatment group, 61 in the control group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials