The effect of acute stress on productivity, time preference, and risk preference

Last registered on January 14, 2014

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The effect of acute stress on productivity, time preference, and risk preference
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000218
First published
January 14, 2014, 11:50 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Dussledorf
PI Affiliation
J-PAL, MIT

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2013-05-28
End date
2013-08-07
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This document outlines the analysis plan for the study of the effects of acute stress on productivity, time preference and risk preference. Our subject pool consists of urban poor in Nairobi Kenya, from Kibera and Viwandani - two of the city's largest informal settlments. We use the cold pressor task to manipulate participants stress. By randomly assigning participants into the stressful or non stressful conditions we can estimate the causal impacts of acute stress on productivity and decision making.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Haushoher, Johannes, Chaning Jang and Linda Kleppin. 2014. "The effect of acute stress on productivity, time preference, and risk preference." AEA RCT Registry. January 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.218-1.0
Former Citation
Haushoher, Johannes, Chaning Jang and Linda Kleppin. 2014. "The effect of acute stress on productivity, time preference, and risk preference." AEA RCT Registry. January 14. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/218/history/915
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Please see the analysis plan.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2013-05-28
Intervention End Date
2013-08-07

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Time Preference, Risk Preference, Productivity (as measured by the 'real effort' task)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Please see the analysis plan for full details.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We use the cold pressor task and randomly assign individuals to hand immersion in cold or body temperature water.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Done in office via physical randomization device (drawing numbers from a bag).
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
669 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
669 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Roughly half of the respondents were assigned to the cold water treatment, with the other half assigned to body temperature water.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
MIT Committee on the use of humans as experimental subjects
IRB Approval Date
2013-05-05
IRB Approval Number
1202004880
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials