The Analysis of Social Pressure via Text Message Campaigns on Prosocial Behaviors: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Iranian Blood Donation Behavior

Last registered on December 06, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Analysis of Social Pressure via Text Message Campaigns on Prosocial Behaviors: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Iranian Blood Donation Behavior
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012648
Initial registration date
December 04, 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, 9:03 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Region
Tehran

Primary Investigator

Name
Ali Amini Valashani
Affiliation
Sharif University of Technology
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-12-01
End date
2023-12-15
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
Social pressure, Blood donation, Text message campaigns
JEL code(s)
C93, D64, D91
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Blood has no other synthetic alternative. Therefore, the only way to supply it is by donation, which requires motivation. Based on the literature, social pressure is one of those incentives that proved to be effective. However, this comes at the cost of disutility for donors and hiring solicitors. Text message campaigns, on the other hand, are fast, less costly, and more inclusive. Since the pressure exerted is indirect, it raises questions about its effectiveness. So, we have designed a field experiment to evaluate whether exerting social pressure via text message campaigns can motivate significantly more people to donate blood or not.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Amini Valashani, Ali. 2023. "The Analysis of Social Pressure via Text Message Campaigns on Prosocial Behaviors: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Iranian Blood Donation Behavior." AEA RCT Registry. December 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12648-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Sending text messages to the treatment group.
Intervention Start Date
2023-12-01
Intervention End Date
2023-12-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The blood donation status of the subjects
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The sample of the experiment consists of 4,876 Tehran residents who are stratified by their observable characteristics available in the data set, including gender and education. In addition, those with an age out of the standard age bracket – 18 to 60 – of blood donation are omitted. Members of each stratum are then randomly assigned to one of the three groups as follows: First, subjects in the control group receive no text messages. However, their blood donation behavior is monitored during the experiment. Second, the treatment group is split into two separate groups. One-half receive the regular text message sent already by IBTO – we call this group "regular treatment" – while the other half receive a text message exerting pressure on them to donate blood – this group is called "pressure treatment."

The two treatment groups are employed to check, first, whether the text message campaign is capable of persuading people to donate blood in general or not. Furthermore, to assess the hypothesis that more people contribute under pressure. One might ask how to be sure if the text message is actually putting people under pressure. Taking that concern into consideration, we are going to survey a randomly selected class of graduate students to opt for the best alternative among three suggested text messages implying social pressure. Consequently, the text message with the most votes is designated to be sent. Since we surmise that the vast majority of graduate students at Sharif University of Technology have the potential to think critically, the pressure induced by the text could be as maximal as possible.

After the most suitable text is chosen, we will only send that to the subjects in the "pressure treatment" group. The subjects in the "regular treatment" group are to receive the routine IBTO text. In order to make sure the three groups of this experiment are not significantly different from each other in terms of observable characteristics and, thus, causing selection bias, we stratify them based on gender and education. One reason to use gender is the low blood donation rate among women in Iran; Only 5 percent of blood donors are women in Iran, so having a group with a female majority would likely distort the results. Besides, since education plays an essential role in blood donation and our sample is not so diverse, with more than half of the subjects holding Bachelor's degrees, the chances of one group involving only Bachelor's holders are high. As a result, stratification is essential.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
By computer, We stratified subjects by their observable characteristics available in the data set, including gender and education. Then, one-third of the subjects in each stratum are randomly allocated to every group.
Randomization Unit
We stratified subjects by their observable characteristics available in the data set, including gender and education. Then, one-third of the subjects in each stratum are randomly allocated to every group.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1 city
Sample size: planned number of observations
4,876 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1625 individuals in the "regular treatment" group, 1625 individuals in the "Pressure treatment" group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
1,460 individuals
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