Short Video and Public Attitude

Last registered on January 22, 2025

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Short Video and Public Attitude
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015231
Initial registration date
January 18, 2025

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
January 22, 2025, 8:18 AM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
中国人民大学

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-08-31
End date
2025-01-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conducted an intervention experiment on Chinese citizens based on a policy reform in China. This policy reform pertains to the revision of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security. The revision involves the clarification of vaguely defined government powers. Our aim was to assess the reactions of the public to different intervention messages in order to determine which types of intervention information significantly influence public policy feedback. Furthermore, we sought to delve into the underlying mechanisms behind these effects.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
li, yiying and Meng Miao. 2025. "Short Video and Public Attitude." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15231-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
We conducted the intervention experiment during the period when the draft revision of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security was open for public comment. The main addition to the law is the "crime of hurting national sentiments," which is vaguely defined and touches upon the private rights of citizens. The experiment primarily took the form of video interventions. We extracted highly representative videos related to the revision of this law from short video platforms. The content of the videos was divided into two camps: one supporting the law with nationalist themes, and the other opposing the law with a focus on civil rights. A portion of the respondents were randomly assigned to the experimental groups that watched these two types of videos, while another portion did not watch any videos.
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-01
Intervention End Date
2025-01-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Public Psychological Perception: Their level of approval or recognition of the law.
Public Behavioral Response: Whether they ultimately provided written feedback.
Differential Impact and Magnitude of Video Interventions: The varying effects and extent of influence exerted by the videos.
Long-term Effects of the Videos: The sustained impact of the video interventions over time.
Analysis of Real-world Context: An examination of the practical implications and real-world circumstances surrounding the law.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conducted the main experiment during the policy reform window period to assess how public attitudes toward the policy reform are influenced by the information they receive. Within two years after the conclusion of the experiment, we randomly followed up with the respondents who participated in the experiment to observe the long-term effects of the intervention. Our experiment primarily utilized video-based interventions and was conducted online, embedding the information interventions within the framework of a questionnaire survey. Our experimental subjects were randomly selected, with respondents distributed across various provinces in China.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Random grouping was achieved through options embedded in the questionnaire. The options used for randomization were very similar, such as A', 'A', and so on.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
3000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
three experimental groups and one control group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Academic Committee of the School of Finance at Renmin University of China
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-26
IRB Approval Number
N/A

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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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