Correcting Norm Misperceptions About Fathers

Last registered on November 25, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Correcting Norm Misperceptions About Fathers
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017255
Initial registration date
November 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
November 25, 2025, 7:33 AM 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
Victoria Baranov
Affiliation
University of Melbourne
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Pietro Biroli
PI Affiliation
University of Bologna
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PI Name
Anne Brenoe
PI Affiliation
University of Zurich
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PI Name
Xiaoyue Shan
PI Affiliation
National University of Singapore
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-11-19
End date
2026-11-30
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Parental investment, fathers
JEL code(s)
J16, J13
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
Across countries, fathers spend substantially less time on childcare than mothers—an arrangement that may be inefficient when both parents work full-time and that limits fathers’ opportunities to bond with their children. We hypothesize that early-parenting gaps are sustained by misperceived gender norms: new fathers believe others expect men to prioritize paid work over caregiving. We first document pluralistic ignorance: both mothers and fathers personally rate a photo of a father caring for a baby as more “ideal” than a photo of a man at work, yet they believe most others prefer the working-man image. We then run a randomized controlled trial among new parents in China that corrects these misperceptions by providing accurate information about others’ views and examine how this belief update affects fathers’ parenting investments and job preferences.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Baranov, Victoria et al. 2025. "Correcting Norm Misperceptions About Fathers." AEA RCT Registry. November 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17255-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention corrects beliefs about social norms about fathers' gender roles.
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-19
Intervention End Date
2026-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to pay for and choice of purchasing a parenting app, sign up for parenting groups, and job preferences.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Job preferences will be estimated using a job choice experiment varying wage, hours, flexibility, and promotion likelihood.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We implement a field experiment with couples originally recruited in a large maternity hospital for a prior study of first-time parents. All prior participants were invited to complete an additional online survey at approximately 7 months postpartum (window: 7–14 months). Invitations were sent to mothers and fathers individually. Upon accepting the invitation, each individual was independently randomized to either:

Treatment (information): receives the norm-correction module; or
Control (no information): completes the survey without the informational update.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation is computer-generated within the survey.
Randomization Unit
Information is randomized at the individual level. Survey invitation order (mother vs father) is randomized at the couple level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1000 treatment individuals, 1000 control individuals
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee, Shanghai First Maternity and Women's Hospital
IRB Approval Date
2025-10-23
IRB Approval Number
KS24400
Analysis Plan