Proximate Peers, Prominent Figures: The Influence of Role Models

Last registered on February 03, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Proximate Peers, Prominent Figures: The Influence of Role Models
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016809
Initial registration date
September 17, 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
September 19, 2025, 10:15 AM EDT

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

Last updated
February 03, 2026, 3:48 PM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Ornella Darova
Affiliation
Harvard Kennedy School
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Anne Duchene
PI Affiliation
University of Pennsylvania
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-09-16
End date
2026-06-01
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Role Models, Peers, Aspirations, Motivation, Education
JEL code(s)
I21, I23, J24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines the influence of role models on students’ academic aspirations, motivation, and performance. We implement a randomized controlled trial in a large undergraduate class with a two-layer randomization design. First, half of the students are exposed to short biographies of six successful eminent young economists who overcame various challenges, while the other half serve as a control group. Second, students are randomly assigned to small working groups of 3–4 peers, which generates exogenous variation in exposure to high-achieving classmates. This design allows us to separately identify the effects of “distant” role models—prominent figures outside the classroom—and “proximate” role models—high-performing peers within the classroom. By comparing the impacts of these two types of exposure, we shed light on whether inspiration travels more effectively through prestige and visibility or through proximity and relatability. The results contribute to understanding the mechanisms through which role models shape aspirations and achievement, with implications for education policy and the design of interventions aimed at broadening participation in competitive fields.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Darova, Ornella and Anne Duchene. 2026. "Proximate Peers, Prominent Figures: The Influence of Role Models." AEA RCT Registry. February 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16809-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants are students in an introductory Microeconomics class at a private U.S. university. They complete a baseline survey.

First Layer (Individual treatment assignment): Half of students are shown content introducing a variety of young economists that are today prominent figures in academia, private sector or international organizations (distant role models). The other half are not shown this content.

Second Layer (Group assignment): Students are then randomized into small groups (3–4 members) for class tasks. Some groups contain one or more high-achieving peers, serving as close role models.
This dual intervention allows us to compare:
- no role model exposure,
- exposure to distant role models,
- exposure to close role models,
- and the interaction between the two.
Intervention Start Date
2025-09-16
Intervention End Date
2026-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- Individual academic performance (class tasks, exams, quizzes)
- Aspirations (self-reported intentions to pursue further economics courses, major in economics, or feasibility to pursue related careers)
- Motivation (self-reported effort, persistence, engagement with class materials)
- Demotivation (feelings of discouragement or lowered confidence after exposure to high-achieving role models)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The outcomes measure both positive effects of role models (motivation, aspirations, achievement) and potential negative effects (discouragement, relative comparisons), in line with the literature on role model tradeoffs.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This RCT employs a two-layer randomization strategy:
- First Layer (Survey randomization via Qualtrics): Students are randomly assigned to either the role model treatment (distant economists presented) or control (no presentation).
- Second Layer (Group formation randomization via R): Students are randomly assigned into groups of 3–4 for classroom tasks. Some groups contain high-achieving peers, creating exposure to close role models.
This design enables us to compare the relative and combined effects of distant and close role models on performance and psychological outcomes.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
First layer: Qualtrics randomization
Second layer: R randomization algorithm
Randomization Unit
- First layer: individuals are randomly assigned to either treatment or control group.
- Second layer: individuals are randomly assigned to groups which will end up having high achieving peers or not.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Around 200 groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
Around 1000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
- First layer: around 500 units treatment, around 500 units control
- Second layer: variation in group exposure to close role models (continuous treatment across 200 groups)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2026-02-02
IRB Approval Number
860110
Analysis Plan