Science versus Religion: Influencing Environmental Awareness in the World’s Fastest Sinking City

Last registered on July 02, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Science versus Religion: Influencing Environmental Awareness in the World’s Fastest Sinking City
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011525
Initial registration date
June 21, 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
June 23, 2023, 5:27 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 02, 2023, 6:37 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Indonesia
Region
Jakarta Metropolitan Area

Primary Investigator

Name
Armand Sim
Affiliation
Monash University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-07-11
End date
2023-08-09
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
Online experiment, information provision, religion, science, environmental issues
JEL code(s)
C90, D83, D91, Q25, Q54
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The primary objective of our study is to empirically examine the effectiveness of a video message addressing environmental concerns. The narratives in the video aim to motivate viewers to modify their behaviors and contribute to averting a significant environmental catastrophe. Our focus lies in evaluating the impact of two key factors: the content of the message and the person delivering it. We specifically intend to investigate how these factors influence public awareness, changes in beliefs and attitudes, and support for policies related to the potential submergence of a mega city in a developing nation. To achieve this, we will manipulate the content and presenter along two dimensions: religion and science. In terms of content, we will augment the standard environmental damage message with both religious and scientific narratives. Regarding the presenter, we will enlist the services of an actor who will portray two distinct roles: an academic/researcher and a Muslim religious leader or imam. To establish a baseline for comparison, we will also include a control group that will view a placebo video without a presenter. The study seeks to shed light on the most effective strategies for delivering environmental messages, thereby promoting public engagement and encouraging behavioral change among individuals.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Sim, Armand . 2023. "Science versus Religion: Influencing Environmental Awareness in the World’s Fastest Sinking City." AEA RCT Registry. July 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11525-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Evaluation of the effectiveness of different interventions that vary the content and presenter of a video message on environmental issues in the context of an impending environmental damage, severe land subsidence, in the Jakarta metropolitan area, Indonesia.
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-11
Intervention End Date
2023-07-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Beliefs about causes and consequences of land subsidence (groundwater extraction driving land subsidence, land subsidence driving submergence of Jakarta)
2. Trust in capacity to address land subsidence (ownself, other people, businesses, government, religious groups/leaders, scientists)
3. Planned actions in response to groundwater extraction information (reduce water consumption, voting for an environmental-friendly governor candidate, relocate to a neighborhood with access to piped water)
4. Policy support to address land subsidence issues (tax groundwater use, restrict household wells, limit business groundwater, lower piped water fare, mandate infiltration wells, expand access to piped water to poor areas, groundwater education, subsidize installation of piped water, build sea walls.)
5. Attitude and perceptions towards environmental issues

We will create an index for several outcomes that belong to the same domain.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We will also measure the respondent's perception on persuasiveness of the messenger.

In addition to the primary impacts of the intervention, we are also interested in examining whether our intervention has heterogeneous impacts along important dimensions.

Primary dimensions for heterogeneity analysis:

1. Main source of drinking water
2. Experience with climate change or weather extremities
3. Initial knowledge about land subsidence
4. Trust level towards academic research and religious leaders

In addition, we will also conduct secondary heterogeneity analysis along demographic dimensions (age, education, gender, income, employment status, area of residence)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will provide information in the form of a 3.5-minute video message presented by a presenter played by an actor.
We plan to have four treatment groups and a control arm. Each treatment group varies in two dimensions: the content and the presenter.

- Treatment group 1: Religious leader delivering a standard message about environmental issues in Jakarta + religious narrative
- Treatment group 2: Religious leader delivering a standard message about environmental issues in Jakarta + scientific narrative
- Treatment group 3: Scientist delivering a standard message about environmental issues in Jakarta + religious narrative
- Treatment group 4: Scientist delivering a standard message about environmental issues in Jakarta + scientific narrative
- Control group: Placebo video (unrelated to land subsidence issues in Jakarta; no actor appearance)

The sample consists of individuals aged 18+ residing in the Jakarta metropolitan area.

Our experimental design will compare outcomes among our sample individuals in the 4 treatment groups and those in the control group:
1) Compare the impacts of each treatment with the control group
2a) Compare the effectiveness of the presenter conditional on delivering the message with a religious narrative:
- the difference between T1 and T3
2b) Compare the effectiveness of the presenter conditional on delivering the message with a scientific narrative:
- the difference between T2 and T4
3a) Compare the effectiveness of the content conditional on the presenter being a religious leader:
- the difference between T1 and T2
3b) Compare the effectiveness of the content conditional on the presenter being a scientist:
- the difference between T3 and T4
4) Difference-in-difference between content (religious vs scientific narrative) and presenter (religious leader vs scientist): (T1-T2) - (T3-T4).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
computer random number generator through a digital survey platform
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3,000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Each treatment group contains 600 individuals
The control group contains 600 individuals
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-05-18
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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