Beliefs, Norms and Health Behaviors

Last registered on March 24, 2024

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Beliefs, Norms and Health Behaviors

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0013073

Initial registration date

February 25, 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

March 06, 2024, 3:27 PM EST

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

Last updated

March 24, 2024, 8:10 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Osea Giuntella

Affiliation

University of Pittsburgh

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Stephanie Wang

PI Affiliation

University of Pittsburgh

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Andrea Kiss

PI Affiliation

Carnegie Mellon University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Jana Abou Hjaily

PI Affiliation

University of Pittsburgh

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2024-02-26

End date

2024-04-26

Keywords

Health

Additional Keywords

beliefs, norms, health behaviors, sleep, physical activity

JEL code(s)

I10

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The study will investigate how randomized information on sleep distribution and norms about sleep in the population may affect individuals beliefs about sleep duration and bedtime. The subjects will be divided in five main groups. A control group will not receive any information on others. Two treatment groups which will receive different information on sleep patterns or physical activity and norms regarding sleep and physical activity in different reference subpopulations. Two treatment groups will respectively receive informtation on the sleep and physical activity of someone from their same gender and in the same student year or (alternatively) another participant in the study with no information on their gender/student year.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Abou Hjaily, Jana et al. 2024. "Beliefs, Norms and Health Behaviors." AEA RCT Registry. March 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13073-4.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

This is an experimental study eliciting beliefs and giving information on sleep and exercise behavior and norms. We look at the effect on subsequent sleep and exercise behavior.
The study will investigate how randomized information on sleep distribution and norms about sleep in the population may affect individuals' beliefs about sleep duration and bedtime. The subjects will be divided in five main groups. A control group that will not receive any information. Two treatment groups will receive different information on sleep patterns and norms in different reference subpopulations. We will also do the same for physical activity, e.g. exercise. The third and fourth treatment groups will respectively receive informtation on the sleep and physical activity of someone from their same gender and in the same student year or (alternatively) another participant in the study with no information on their gender/student year.
The study team will link the data from initial participants with roommate participants to analyze spillover effects on the roommates' self-reported sleep and exercise behavior. The roommate information will be linked through the study ID of the initial participants.
We will also compare FitBit data with participant recall of past sleep and exercise behavior to see the extent of imperfect recall over different time periods and whether that's also affected by the treatment.

Intervention Start Date

2024-03-25

Intervention End Date

2024-04-26

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Sleep duration
Sleep quality
Heart rate variability
Resting heart rate
Physical activity

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Recall of past sleep and exercise behavior
Time-use allocation
Cognitive skills
Creativity
Self-reported health
Mental health outcomes
Depression symptoms
Whether participants return/mail back the Fitbit

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The subjects will be divided in three main groups. A control group will not receive any information. Two groups will receive different information on sleep patterns and norms in different reference populations. We will also do the same for physical activity. The third and fourth treatment groups will respectively receive informtation on the sleep and physical activity of someone from their same gender and in the same student year or (alternatively) another participant in the study with no information on their gender/student year.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Computer - Qualtrics

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

400

Sample size: planned number of observations

400 students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

60 students in Control
60 students in Treatment 1
60 students in Treatment 2
60 students in Treatment 3
60 students in Treatment 4
100 students in Roommate sample

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB