How Does Witchcraft Affect Pro-Social Behavior?

Last registered on July 19, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How Does Witchcraft Affect Pro-Social Behavior?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003276
Initial registration date
September 01, 2018

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 01, 2018, 6:50 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 19, 2023, 6:30 PM EDT

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Stanford University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Harvard University

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-08-01
End date
2018-09-30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We describe the analysis plan for a series of lab-in-the-field experiments designed to examine how witchcraft affects pro-social behavior. The study will be conducted with individuals living in and near Gemena, a city in Sud-Ubangi province which is in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Participants will complete three experimental games that involve another player. In each game, the other player is anonymous, but they are given some information about them. They are informed of their age, sex, educational level, ethnic group, strength of belief in the Christian God, strength of belief in witchcraft, and whether the individual is from Gemena. The primary experimental treatment is that individuals are randomly assigned to another player that has either a strong or weak belief in witchcraft. We outline the study design, the treatments, and the econometric strategy for the analysis.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Lowes, Sara and Nathan Nunn. 2023. "How Does Witchcraft Affect Pro-Social Behavior?." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3276-1.1
Former Citation
Lowes, Sara and Nathan Nunn. 2023. "How Does Witchcraft Affect Pro-Social Behavior?." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3276/history/187002
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants will complete three experimental games that involve another player. In each game, the other player is anonymous, but they are given some information about them. They are informed of their age, sex, educational level, ethnic group, strength of belief in the Christian God, strength of belief in witchcraft, and whether the individual is from Gemena. The primary experimental treatment is that individuals are randomly assigned to another player that has either a strong or weak belief in witchcraft.
Intervention Start Date
2018-08-01
Intervention End Date
2018-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables are the choices made in the three lab experiments.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Individuals are not given the identity of the player they are playing with in the experimental tasks. However, they are given the following information about the other player: age group, sex, education level, ethnicity, strength of belief in the Christian God, strength of belief in witchcraft, and whether they grew up in Gemena. They are also told that the other player will have the same information about them. The primary experimental manipulation is whether the individual is assigned to complete the activity with someone who has a strong belief in witchcraft or a weak belief in witchcraft. Each participant will plays three different experimental games: the Dictator Game, Choose Your Dictator Game, and Joy of Destruction Game. For each game, two rounds are played, each time with a different player.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Individuals play each experimental task two times: one time with someone with a strong belief in witchcraft and one time with someone with a weak belief in witchcraft.
Randomization Unit
Within each experimental task, individuals are assigned to play with a high belief person and a low belief person.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
NA
Sample size: planned number of observations
520 individuals, two game iterations per experimental task.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
520 individuals
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University
IRB Approval Date
2015-06-10
IRB Approval Number
24087
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
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials