Social Information, Advice and Children’s Pro-Social Behavior: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

Last registered on February 16, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social Information, Advice and Children’s Pro-Social Behavior: Experimental Evidence from Colombia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013039
Initial registration date
February 14, 2024

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 16, 2024, 4:07 PM 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
Natalia Candelo Londono
Affiliation
CUNY Queens College
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sherry Xin Li
PI Affiliation
University of Arkansas
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PI Name
Jingping Gu
PI Affiliation
University of Arkansas
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2015-08-17
End date
2024-12-12
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
field experiment, social information, advice, children, pro-social behavior
JEL code(s)
C9, D64, J13, O12
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment to investigate how parents’, teachers’, and peers’ behavior and advice affect children’s pro-social behavior in poor neighborhoods in Colombia. Elementary school children conduct a real-effort task and choose to allocate time between working for their own benefit or for a needy child. Across treatments, they receive information on their parents’, teachers’, or student peers’ decisions or advice, which may influence their sharing decisions. Our findings could shed light on policymaking on effectively fostering prosociality in children from an early age.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Candelo Londono, Natalia, Jingping Gu and Sherry Xin Li. 2024. "Social Information, Advice and Children’s Pro-Social Behavior: Experimental Evidence from Colombia." AEA RCT Registry. February 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13039-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Each child sorted chips twice, and before starting the second round, they received either information or advice from people in their social environment.
Intervention Start Date
2015-08-17
Intervention End Date
2024-12-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The amount of sorted chips shared with the child in need before and after the intervention.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Pro-social behavior of underprivileged children.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
During our experiment, children were asked to sort bingo chips of one particular color from a bag containing 500 of two different colored chips each. They were given seven minutes to do this and had the option to sort the chips for themselves or for a child in need. This activity had both a private and social outcome. The social outcome was that the less fortunate child would benefit from the sorted chips, while the private outcome was that the participating child would receive benefits in the form of tokens that could be exchanged for goodies in an experimental store. Each child sorted chips twice, and before starting the second round, they received either information or advice from people in their social environment
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
390 children
Sample size: planned number of observations
390 children
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
At least 30 observations per treatment, including the control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
30 observations per treatment. Unit: Percentage of amount shared, SD: 0.11, power 80%.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Texas at Dallas IRB
IRB Approval Date
2014-05-09
IRB Approval Number
14-26
IRB Name
CUNY IRB
IRB Approval Date
2014-07-01
IRB Approval Number
#2015-0532
Analysis Plan