Loneliness and Over-borrowing

Last registered on March 18, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Loneliness and Over-borrowing
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015429
Initial registration date
March 11, 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 18, 2025, 11:07 AM EDT

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
Fanya Gao
Affiliation
University of Milan/Università degli Studi di Milano
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-03-12
End date
2025-05-12
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Other
Additional Keywords
Psychology, Economics
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The main aim of this paper is to assess whether a higher level of loneliness leads to a higher level of borrowing, and whether the lack of self-control acts as a mediator between loneliness and borrowing behavior. Participants will complete a series of tasks including viewing images, recalling experiences, completing the Stroop task, playing a shooting game, and answering questions related to personal information. The study will be help to understand the causal relationships between psychological factors and the over-borrowing behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Gao, Fanya. 2025. "Loneliness and Over-borrowing." AEA RCT Registry. March 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15429-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-03-12
Intervention End Date
2025-05-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Borrowing behavior - Borrowed bullets.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
This outcome is from the shooting game, to check whether participants in the treatment conditions (both the high loneliness level and low self-control level) tend to be over-borrowed.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
The end test of self-control level.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
This one is to check whether the self-control could be work as a mediator - whether the loneliness level will affect their self-control ability.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This experiment will be conducted online.
There will be four groups in total:
Group 1: High loneliness level + High self-control level
Group 2: High loneliness level + Low self-control level
Group 3: Low loneliness level + High self-control level
Group 4: Low loneliness level + Low self-control level
1. Manipulation of loneliness: Showing lonely images and doing the recalling and writing priming (recall and write past experience). 2. Test of loneliness: UCLA loneliness scale. 3. Manipulation of self-control: Doing Stroop task. 4. Test of borrowing behavior: Shooting game. 5. Test of self-control: Stroop task. 6. Survey.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done via software.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4 groups.
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 participants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 participants in Group A, 100 participants in Group B, 100 participants in Group C, 100 participants in Group D.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Comitato etico dell’Università degli Studi di Milano
IRB Approval Date
2025-02-11
IRB Approval Number
20/25
Analysis Plan