Narrative Persuasion 3

Last registered on February 20, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Narrative Persuasion 3
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015403
Initial registration date
February 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
February 20, 2025, 12:32 PM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Kai Barron
Affiliation
WZB
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Timan Fries
PI Affiliation
LMU Munich
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-02-20
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
Narratives, beliefs, persuasion, sender-receiver, models, stories, communication, truth-telling.
JEL code(s)
D91, C90, C72, D83
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This pre-registration describes an additional set of treatments that we will conduct to complement those that have already been described in the 2024 working paper entitled "Narrative Persuasion" (https://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2024/ii23-301r.pdf).

We study how one person may shape the way another person interprets objective information. They do this by proposing a sense-making explanation (or narrative). Using a theory-driven experiment, we investigate the mechanics of such narrative persuasion. In particular, we will explore how individuals update their beliefs.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Barron, Kai and Timan Fries. 2025. "Narrative Persuasion 3." AEA RCT Registry. February 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15403-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Please see the attached pdf for details.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-20
Intervention End Date
2025-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Advisor's messages and investor's beliefs (Please see the attached pdf for details.)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Please see the attached pdf for details.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experimental design is very similar to that of the Symmetric treatment of the experiment reported in the April 2024 working paper entitled "Narrative Persuasion." Here, we exogenously vary contextual factors that may play a role in influencing persuasion using narratives.

Please see the attached pdf for details.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
The randomization is implemented by the computer software, oTree, that was used to programme this experiment.
Randomization Unit
We have multiple layers of randomization. These are described in detail in our attached pdf.

In terms of the four treatment conditions, this is done at the individual level. Participants in the experiment have an equal chance of being assigned (randomly) to each of the four treatment conditions. Within each treatment condition, they are randomly assigned to the role of advisor or investor. We also generate random variation in the true DGPs, and the realized histories that investor-advisor pairs observe. The pdf attached to this pre-registration and the previous working paper version of this study provide further details.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
This is described in the attached pdf.
Sample size: planned number of observations
720
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Each treatment contains 180 individuals. The details are provided in the attached pdf.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
This is provided in the attached pdf. Following what we did in most of the previous treatments in the paper and the justification provided in our previous pre-registration documents, we will collect a sample of 180 investors in each of the four treatments (90 advisors and 90 investors). This sample size provides us with 80% power to find a reduction in persuasion of 2.7 percentage points between Symmetric and each of the additional treatments. The baseline level of persuasion in Symmetric is 4.8.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
WZB Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2021-09-10
IRB Approval Number
2021/3/122
Analysis Plan