Locus of Control and Giving: The Roles of Situational Control Beliefs, Uncertainty, and Pivotality

Last registered on June 17, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Locus of Control and Giving: The Roles of Situational Control Beliefs, Uncertainty, and Pivotality
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013476
Initial registration date
April 23, 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
June 17, 2024, 2:53 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Lukas Tomberg
Affiliation
RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Mark A. Andor
PI Affiliation
RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Delia Niehues
PI Affiliation
RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Michael K. Price
PI Affiliation
University of Alabama, Australian National University, and NBER
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-04-24
End date
2026-05-19
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We investigate how exogenous variations in uncertainty, pivotality, and situational control beliefs interact with locus of control in determining giving in two experimental games.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Andor, Mark A. et al. 2024. "Locus of Control and Giving: The Roles of Situational Control Beliefs, Uncertainty, and Pivotality." AEA RCT Registry. June 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13476-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Each group receives either positive, negative or no priming intended to alter the participants control beliefs. We prime participants by asking them to recall a situation where personal efforts led to a professional or private success (positive priming) or a situation where, despite all their efforts, they were not able to achieve such a success (negative priming).
Intervention Start Date
2024-04-24
Intervention End Date
2024-05-19

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Donations/contributions in two different experimental games
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary outcome variable will be the contributions to charity in the Threshold Game or to the public good in the Public Good Game.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Perceived likelihood that the own decision will be the pivotal factor leading to the additional donation of 500 EUR in the Threshold Game.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Incentivized experimental games within a survey
Experimental Design Details
We conduct two different experiments among 15 equally sized groups, where participants are randomly assigned into. Each participant either plays the so-called Threshold Game in the spirit of Gee & Schreck (2018) with one of four possible thresholds (1, 3, 5 or 7) and a charity as the recipient, or a Public Good Game with a constant marginal per capita return (MPCR) for a contribution to the public good of 0.5. Each group receives either positive, negative or no priming intended to alter the participants control beliefs. We prime participants by asking them to recall a situation where personal efforts led to a professional or private success (positive priming) or a situation where, despite all their efforts, they were not able to achieve such a success (negative priming). Groups without priming did not receive further instructions before the start of the game.
Randomization Method
Randomization by the survey institute commissioned to conduct the survey
Randomization Unit
Individuals (respondents)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6000 respondents
Sample size: planned number of observations
6000 respondents
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400 respondents
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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

Request Information

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