Zodiac signs and personality traits

Last registered on April 16, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Zodiac signs and personality traits
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013300
Initial registration date
April 04, 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
April 16, 2024, 11:11 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
ZEW Mannheim

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
IAB Nuremberg

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-04-16
End date
2024-08-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
A surprisingly large share of the population believes in zodiac signs and their significance regarding individuals’ personality traits, despite there being no scientific evidence in favour of a relationship between zodiac signs and personality traits. Existing studies, however, often suffer from small and non-representative samples, which may undermine their conclusions. In this paper, we re-visit the question of whether zodiac signs predict personality traits using the German Socio-Economic Panel, which provides representative data for the German population. Having access to the exact date of birth, we can compute zodiac signs and compare Big 5 personality traits across zodiac signs. Our findings indicate that, indeed, personality traits do differ between zodiac signs. However, differences are relatively small. A heterogeneity analysis suggests that these differences are driven by individuals who are more likely to be believe in the significance of zodiac signs.
To test whether this mechanism is indeed true, we plan to run a short survey among undergrade students at a University in East Germany. Students will fill-in an online survey that asks about standard socio-demographics, the birth date, the zodiac sign, and personality traits (Big 5).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Lange, Martin and Stefan Tübbicke. 2024. "Zodiac signs and personality traits." AEA RCT Registry. April 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13300-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Priming.
Intervention (Hidden)
Students are randomly assigned into two groups. Group 1 will answer the question about their zodiac sign before answering questions about the Big 5. Group 2 will first answer questions about the Big 5 and then be asked about their zodiac sign.
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-16
Intervention End Date
2024-04-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Big 5 personality traits
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Risk, pro-sociality, trust, locus of control
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
To test whether differences in personality traits by zodiac sign can be attributed to those who believe in the relevance of zodiac signs, we plan to run a short survey among undergrade students at a University in East Germany. Students will fill-in an online survey that asks about standard socio-demographics, the birth date, the zodiac sign, and personality traits (Big 5).
Experimental Design Details
Students are randomly assigned into two groups. Group 1 will answer the question about their zodiac sign before answering questions about the Big 5. Group 2 will first answer questions about the Big 5 and then be asked about their zodiac sign. We want to test whether priming respondents to think about their zodiac sign leads those who believe in the relevance of the zodiac sign to answer questions about the Big 5 differently than whose who are not primed.
Randomization Method
by computer
Randomization Unit
individuals (students)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
one course at a University in East Germany
Sample size: planned number of observations
about 200 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 students control, 100 students treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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