The Influence of Altruism on Risk Tolerance: The Mediating Role of Emotions

Last registered on January 17, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Influence of Altruism on Risk Tolerance: The Mediating Role of Emotions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015909
Initial registration date
April 30, 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
April 30, 2025, 1:50 PM EDT

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

Last updated
January 17, 2026, 1:58 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

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Primary Investigator

Name
Islam Abdalhafez
Affiliation
University of Oulu
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Andrew Conlin
PI Affiliation
Aalto University
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PI Name
Petri Sahlström
PI Affiliation
University of Oulu
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-01-18
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Lab
Additional Keywords
altruism, priming, emotions, risk preferences, behavioral finance, experimental economics, online experiment, Prolific, Qualtrics, mediation
JEL code(s)
D8, D64, C91
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines the impact of altruistic priming on individuals’ risk tolerance. Utilizing an online experimental design, participants are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group. Those in the treatment group are exposed to a validated altruism-themed video, while those in the control group view a neutral video. The altruism video has been pre-validated in a laboratory setting. Following the priming, we elicit participants’ emotional states, Finally, all participants complete an incentivized staircase task to measure their risk tolerance. The primary outcome is a risk-tolerance measure derived from the staircase task, and we assess whether emotions mediate the effect of altruistic priming on risk tolerance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abdalhafez, Islam, Andrew Conlin and Petri Sahlström. 2026. "The Influence of Altruism on Risk Tolerance: The Mediating Role of Emotions." AEA RCT Registry. January 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15909-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants are randomly assigned to watch one of two short videos. The treatment video is designed to activate an altruism mindset, while the control video is neutral in content. All participants then complete the same follow-up survey measures and incentivized decision tasks.
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-18
Intervention End Date
2026-01-19

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Average of standardized subjective risk (0–10) and staircase risk measure.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We form a weighted average of our two measures of risk tolerance using weights of 47.3% for self-assessed risk tolerance and 52.7% for the lottery-based task, with the weights coming from the Global Preference Survey of Falk et al. (2016, 2018)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
State emotions measured happiness, fear, anger, guilt.
Altruism Index
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Emotion variables are recorded on 0–100 sliders. Based on Meier, (2022), a “net happiness” index will be constructed as ((Happiness − Sadness)/2) + 50 to retain a 0–100 range. The post-task altruism index follows the Falk et al.(2016, 2018) GPS (willingness to give and hypothetical donation).

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Online individual-level randomized controlled trial with two arms. Participants are randomly assigned (1:1) to view either an altruism-themed video (treatment) or a neutral video (control). Immediately after exposure, participants report state emotions. Participants then complete standardized measures of risk tolerance, including an incentivized monetary staircase lottery task. The primary outcome is a composite risk index, and the analysis assesses whether emotions mediate the effect of altruistic priming on risk tolerance.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Individual-level random assignment is implemented by Qualtrics’ built-in randomizer with equal probability (1:1) to the altruism video prime or the neutral control video.
Randomization Unit
Individual participant (online subject)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
800 individuals (individual-level randomization)
Sample size: planned number of observations
800 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Altruism group: 400 participants; Control: 400 participants
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Using the pilot estimate of the primary composite risk preference index’s variability (pooled SD ≈ 0.735), the minimum detectable effect for a two-sided test with α = 0.05 and 80% power is ≈ 0.103. This corresponds to approximately 0.140 SD.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan