Understanding the effects of different levels of descriptive social norms

Last registered on December 06, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Understanding the effects of different levels of descriptive social norms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012528
Initial registration date
November 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
December 06, 2023, 7:43 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jesper Akesson
Affiliation
The Behaviouralist
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-11-21
End date
2023-11-28
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Social norms
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study explores how varying the information conveyed in a descriptive social norm intervention influences participants' willingness to become advocates for a charity. Some participants are allocated to a control condition that is not shown a social norm, while others are allocated to conditions where they are told that they have been matched with 10 other participants, and are randomly told that 0, 2, 5, 8, or 10 of those they were matched with chose to become advocates. The main outcome of interest is whether participants indicate that they would like to sign up to become an advocate for the charity. Secondary outcomes include whether they felt bad for the charity because too few signed up and the perceived efficacy associated with becoming an advocate. In addition to randomly being allocated to conditions with different norm levels, participants are also either told that their decision will be kept confidential or that we may share their decision with the charity (so that they could contact them).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Akesson, Jesper. 2023. "Understanding the effects of different levels of descriptive social norms." AEA RCT Registry. December 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12528-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study explores how varying the information conveyed in a descriptive social norm intervention influences participants' willingness to become advocates for a charity. Some participants are allocated to a control condition that is not shown a social norm, while others are allocated to conditions where they are told that they have been matched with 10 other participants, and are randomly told that 0, 2, 5, 8, or 10 of those they were matched with chose to become advocates. The main outcome of interest is whether participants indicate that they would like to sign up to become an advocate for the charity. Secondary outcomes include whether they felt bad for the charity because too few signed up and the perceived efficacy associated with becoming an advocate. In addition to randomly being allocated to conditions with different norm levels, participants are also either told that their decision will be kept confidential or that we may share their decision with the charity (so that they could contact them).
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-21
Intervention End Date
2023-11-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Whether participants indicate that they would like to sign up to become an advocate
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
The share of participants they believe signed up, various beliefs about the charity (e.g., its reputation, its efficacy), perceived image benefits associated with signing up, pity for the charity.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
These outcomes are recorded using survey questions after treatment has been delivered.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study explores how varying the information conveyed in a descriptive social norm intervention influences participants' willingness to become advocates for a charity. Some participants are allocated to a control condition that is not shown a social norm, while others are allocated to conditions where they are told that they have been matched with 10 other participants, and are randomly told that 0, 2, 5, 8, or 10 of those they were matched with chose to become advocates. The main outcome of interest is whether participants indicate that they would like to sign up to become an advocate for the charity. Secondary outcomes include whether they felt bad for the charity because too few signed up and the perceived efficacy associated with becoming an advocate. In addition to randomly being allocated to conditions with different norm levels, participants are also either told that their decision will be kept confidential or that we may share their decision with the charity (so that they could contact them).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Individual randomisation is conducted using Qualtrics
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5000
Sample size: planned number of observations
5000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Participants are first randomised with equal probability to control, 0% norm, 20% norm, 50% norm, 80% norm, or 100% norm (i.e., approximately 833 per group). All participants are then re-randomised to a public or private condition (i.e., 2.5k in public and 2.5k in private conditions).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Assuming a 20% base rate in the control condition, we have 80% power to detect effects of 6 percentage points.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
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