Gender Stereotypes and Interventions to Overcome Them

Last registered on March 07, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Gender Stereotypes and Interventions to Overcome Them

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0015427

Initial registration date

March 04, 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

March 07, 2025, 8:11 AM EST

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

Locations

Country

Italy

Region

Veneto

Primary Investigator

Name

Alessandro Castagnetti

Affiliation

University of Verona

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Maria Vittoria Levati

PI Affiliation

University of Verona

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2025-03-17

End date

2025-12-31

Keywords

Behavior, Education, Gender

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

C91, D83

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

The study will focus on gender stereotypes in mathematics performance, which is considered a stereotypically male activity, and in verbal reasoning, which is stereotypically associated with women. In particolar, on top of assessing the prevalence of gender stereotypes, the experiment aims to test various informational interventions and evaluate their effectiveness in reducing stereotypical perceptions.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Castagnetti, Alessandro and Maria Vittoria Levati. 2025. "Gender Stereotypes and Interventions to Overcome Them." AEA RCT Registry. March 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15427-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The experiment will use a between-subjects design, where the type of information provided to participants about their performance in the math and verbal tests will vary.

Intervention (Hidden)

T0: No information.
T1: Information on subject's ownb score in the math test (verbal).
T2: Information on the average scores of males and females in the math test (verbal).
T3: Information on the specific scores of some participants who have previously completed the math (verbal) test.

Intervention Start Date

2025-03-17

Intervention End Date

2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Main outcome variable: Posterior beliefs about own performance.
Analyses will be performed both pooled and by gender.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

The main analyses will consist of studying how beliefs are shaped following the information provision treatments. Thus, the analysis will rely on analysing beliefs both within (prior-posterior beliefs) and between (across treatment groups) .
Analyses will be performed both pooled and by gender.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

1. Whether the subject choose to be paid according to a flat fee or based on task performance (on which they received information).

2. Long term effects of the information provision on beliefs.

3. Spillover effects.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Main Experiment:
Participants will take two tests, which will assess their math and verbal reasoning abilities. After completing the tests, they will be asked to report their prior beliefs about their absolute scores, as well as their beliefs about their relative ranking. After making some decisions, participants will receive information in a between-subject design. Following this, they will be asked to report their updated beliefs about their performance.

Follow-up Experiment:
At least two weeks after completing the main experiment, participants will be invited to take a follow-up survey to assess their confidence in both math and verbal reasoning tests.

Experimental Design Details

Main Experiment:

The experiment will last an average of about 25/30 minutes and includes the following activities:
1. Mathematical reasoning test, consisting of ten questions.
2. Verbal reasoning test, comprising ten questions.
3. PANAS questionnaire.
4. Elicitation of personal beliefs about performance.
5. Choice of payment method based on the mathematical/verbal reasoning test.
6. Information about performance (the type of information depends on the experimental treatment).
7. Elicitation of personal beliefs about performance.
8. PANAS questionnaire.
9. Choice of payment method based on the mathematical reasoning test.
10. Post-experimental questions: attitudes toward risk, loss aversion, demographic information.

The experiment follows a between-subjects design, in which the type of information provided to participants regarding
their performance on the math and verbal tests will vary.

The PANAS questionnaire will help assess the impact of feedback information on mood, aiding the analysis on primary and secondary outcomes.

T0: No information.
T1: Information on the score in the math test (verbal).
T2: Information on the average scores of males and females in the math test (verbal).
T3: Information on the specific scores of some participants (based on gender) who have previously completed the math (verbal) test.

Follow-up experiment:

The second experiment will have an average duration of about 15 minutes and includes the following activities:

1. Elicitation of personal beliefs regarding subsequent performance on mathematical reasoning and verbal reasoning tests.
2. Mathematical reasoning test.
3. Verbal reasoning test.
4. Elicitation of own beliefs regarding performance.

The follow-up experiment will help assess the longer time implications of performance feedback.

Participants will be recruited using the Prolific platform. To proceed with the experiment, they must answer comprehension questions correctly. We will restrict participation to individuals who have an approval rating of at least 95%, have completed more than 10 prior submissions, and are based in the US.

Randomization Method

Software randomization.

Randomization Unit

Individual.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

No clusters.

Sample size: planned number of observations

1200

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

150 subjects per condition (balanced by gender).
A total of at least 1200 subjects (8 conditions).
If funding is limited, priority will be given to interventions related to information provision for the math test.

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB