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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
We will conduct three survey experiments among Japanese men to study how information provision about the extent of others’ support and managers’ beliefs about the career impacts of paternity leave-taking affects their attitudes and willingness to take-up paternity leave. Our experimental design will allow us to assess the extent to which misperceptions about the extent of support among various groups (e.g., peers vs. managers) contributes to the low level of paternity-leave taking among Japanese men.
The first survey experiment targets a representative sample of married men who are currently employed. Our outcomes of interest include:
(1) Likelihood of encouraging a male friend who is about to have a child to take different durations of paternity/childcare leave within the first year of the child’s birth. Specifically, we will present a hypothetical scenario about a male friend who is similar in age and education and working for a similar type of company and is deciding about whether to take paternity leave. We will then ask participants, “What advice would you give your friend, specifically, what is the percent chance (or chances out of 100) that you would encourage him to take 0 days, < 1 week, 1 to 2 weeks, 2 weeks to 1 month, 1 month to 3 months, > 3 months, of paternity leave.”
Analysis: Comparing this outcome across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of the impact of the information treatment on participants’ attitudes toward paternity leave-taking.
(2) For participants who are planning to have a child in the near future, we will ask the likelihood that they will take paternity leave of various durations within the first year of the child’s birth.
Analysis: Comparing this outcome across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of the impact of the information treatment on participants’ intended behavior.
(3) Beliefs about the career impacts of taking paternity leave and managers’ support of paternity leave-taking among their subordinates.
Analysis: Comparing these outcomes across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of how beliefs update as a result of the information treatment.
The second survey experiment targets a representative sample of married men who expect/plan to have a baby in the next year (the survey company we are working with has access to such a sample of to-be fathers). We will survey this group of married men at least three times, once before they have a child (baseline survey), another time 2-3 months later, and another time a year later after they have had a child (follow-up survey). Funds permitting, we will survey them a third time two years later.
The information treatment will be in the form of an animated video, embedded in the baseline survey, that illustrates pluralistic ignorance regarding paternity leave-taking in the workplace and provides numerical information about the extent of peers’ and managers’ support of paternity leave-taking (obtained from a previous representative survey of married men and middle managers. The outcomes of interest will be intended paternity leave-taking behavior, attitudes toward paternity leave-taking, and gender-role attitudes. For the first follow-up survey 2-3 months after the intervention, the outcomes will be similar to the baseline survey and the aim is to see if the effects on intentions and attitudes persist. For the second follow-up survey after the child is born, the main outcome of interest will be participants’ actual (self-reported) leave-taking behavior. To study belief updating, we will also re-ask questions on participants’ beliefs about the extent of others’ support for paternity-leave taking as well as the career impacts of taking paternity-leave.
The third survey experiment is similar to the first survey experiment and targets a similar sample of married men who are currently employed. The main outcomes of interest are similar to the first survey. The main difference is that the treatment groups will be presented with the information intervention in the form of (1) an animated video, along with numerical information, or (2) the numerical information only, about the extent of peers’ and managers’ support for paternity leave-taking, and there will be two control groups (one shown a placebo video and the other not provided with any information). The aim of the third survey is to assess which aspects of the video treatment influences attitudes toward paternity leave-taking.
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After
We will conduct three survey experiments among Japanese men to study how information provision about the extent of others’ support and managers’ beliefs about the career impacts of paternity leave-taking affects their attitudes and willingness to take-up paternity leave. Our experimental design will allow us to assess the extent to which misperceptions about the extent of support among various groups (e.g., peers vs. managers) contributes to the low level of paternity-leave taking among Japanese men.
The first survey experiment targets a representative sample of married men who are currently employed. Our outcomes of interest include:
(1) Likelihood of encouraging a male friend who is about to have a child to take different durations of paternity/childcare leave within the first year of the child’s birth. Specifically, we will present a hypothetical scenario about a male friend who is similar in age and education and working for a similar type of company and is deciding about whether to take paternity leave. We will then ask participants, “What advice would you give your friend, specifically, what is the percent chance (or chances out of 100) that you would encourage him to take 0 days, < 1 week, 1 to 2 weeks, 2 weeks to 1 month, 1 month to 3 months, > 3 months, of paternity leave.”
Analysis: Comparing this outcome across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of the impact of the information treatment on participants’ attitudes toward paternity leave-taking.
(2) For participants who are planning to have a child in the near future, we will ask the likelihood that they will take paternity leave of various durations within the first year of the child’s birth.
Analysis: Comparing this outcome across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of the impact of the information treatment on participants’ intended behavior.
(3) Beliefs about the career impacts of taking paternity leave and managers’ support of paternity leave-taking among their subordinates.
Analysis: Comparing these outcomes across the control and treatment groups will provide an estimate of how beliefs update as a result of the information treatment.
The second survey experiment targets a representative sample of married men who expect/plan to have a baby in the next year (the survey company we are working with has access to such a sample of to-be fathers). We will survey this group of married men at least three times, once before they have a child (baseline survey), another time about 1 month later, and another time a year later after they have had a child (follow-up survey). Funds permitting, we will survey them a third time two years later.
The information treatment will be in the form of an animated video, embedded in the baseline survey, that illustrates pluralistic ignorance regarding paternity leave-taking in the workplace and provides numerical information about the extent of peers’ and managers’ support of paternity leave-taking (obtained from a previous representative survey of married men and middle managers. The outcomes of interest will be intended paternity leave-taking behavior, attitudes toward paternity leave-taking, and gender-role attitudes. For the first follow-up survey 2-3 months after the intervention, the outcomes will be similar to the baseline survey and the aim is to see if the effects on intentions and attitudes persist. For the second follow-up survey after the child is born, the main outcome of interest will be participants’ actual (self-reported) leave-taking behavior. To study belief updating, we will also re-ask questions on participants’ beliefs about the extent of others’ support for paternity-leave taking as well as the career impacts of taking paternity-leave.
The third survey experiment is similar to the first survey experiment and targets a similar sample of married men who are currently employed. The main outcomes of interest are similar to the first survey. The main difference is that the treatment groups will be presented with the information intervention in the form of (1) an animated video, along with numerical information, or (2) the numerical information only, about the extent of peers’ and managers’ support for paternity leave-taking, and there will be two control groups (one shown a placebo video and the other not provided with any information). The aim of the third survey is to assess which aspects of the video treatment influences attitudes toward paternity leave-taking. There will be a follow-up survey about 1 month after the initial survey experiment.
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
For the first survey experiment, participants will be randomly assigned into a control group and four treatment groups. The treatment groups will receive varying sets of information about peer support for paternity-leave taking, managers’ support, and managers’ beliefs about the career impacts of taking paternity-leave.
The experimental set-up for the second survey experiment (expectant father sample) will be similar, except that this time the information about peer support and manager support for paternity leave-taking will be presented in the form of an animated video with a storyline that illustrates pluralistic ignorance in the workplace setting. The target sample size is 3,000, which will be randomized into a treatment group that is shown the main video and a control group that is shown a placebo video.
The third survey experiment (married men sample) has a target sample size of 5,000 with four equal-sized treatment arms: (1) Treatment group shown video with storyline and numerical information, (2) Treatment group shown video with only numerical information, (3) Control group shown placebo video, and (4) Control group with no video and no info.
The information provided to the participants will be obtained from surveys of attitudes and beliefs surrounding paternity leave-taking that we conduct prior to the survey experiments. These “pre-intervention” surveys will be conducted on representative samples of the individuals and managers. These surveys will be used to establish the attitudes surrounding paternity leave-taking in Japan among various groups of individuals and the accuracy of perceptions of others’ beliefs. We will survey married/unmarried men and women between the ages of 25 to 49, older men and women aged 55 and above, as well as middle managers and upper-level managers across a representative set of industries.
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After
For the first survey experiment, participants will be randomly assigned into a control group and four treatment groups. The treatment groups will receive varying sets of information about peer support for paternity-leave taking, managers’ support, and managers’ beliefs about the career impacts of taking paternity-leave. This is a pilot experiment (completed in 2024).
The experimental set-up for the second survey experiment (expectant father sample) will be similar, except that this time the information about peer support and manager support for paternity leave-taking will be presented in the form of an animated video with a storyline that illustrates pluralistic ignorance in the workplace setting. The target sample size is 3,000, which will be randomized into a treatment group that is shown the main video and a control group that is shown a placebo video. The planned rollout date for the survey experiment is around 14 Feb 2025.
The third survey experiment (married men sample) has a target sample size of 5,000 with four equal-sized treatment arms: (1) Treatment group shown video with storyline and numerical information, (2) Treatment group shown video with only numerical information, (3) Control group shown placebo video, and (4) Control group with no video and no info. . The planned rollout date for the survey experiment is around 14 Feb 2025.
The information provided to the participants will be obtained from surveys of attitudes and beliefs surrounding paternity leave-taking that we conduct prior to the survey experiments. These “pre-intervention” surveys will be conducted on representative samples of the individuals and managers. These surveys will be used to establish the attitudes surrounding paternity leave-taking in Japan among various groups of individuals and the accuracy of perceptions of others’ beliefs. We will survey married/unmarried men and women between the ages of 25 to 49, older men and women aged 55 and above, as well as middle managers and upper-level managers across a representative set of industries.
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
Experiment 1: 1,000 in each treatment arm (1 control group, 4 treatment arms)
Experiment 2: 1,500 in each treatment arm at baseline (1 treatment and 1 control group). Expect attrition in the follow-up samples, with a target sample size of ~800 for the final follow-up.
Experiment 3: 1,250 in each treatment arm at baseline (4 treatment arms). Expect some attribution in the follow-up samples.
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After
Experiment 1: 1,000 in each treatment arm (1 control group, 4 treatment arms)
Experiment 2: 1,500 in each treatment arm at baseline (1 treatment and 1 control group). Expect attrition in the follow-up samples, with a target sample size of ~800 for the final follow-up.
Experiment 3: 1,250 in each treatment arm at baseline (4 treatment arms: 2 treatment groups and 2 control groups). Expect some attribution in the follow-up samples.
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