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Pocket Aces: Commitment and Incentives Against Smartphones for Students

Last registered on March 09, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Pocket Aces: Commitment and Incentives Against Smartphones for Students
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003329
Initial registration date
September 17, 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 21, 2018, 12:11 AM EDT

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

Last updated
March 09, 2019, 6:04 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
Texas

Primary Investigator

Name
Lester Lusher
Affiliation
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Scott Carrell
PI Affiliation
University of California Davis
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Billur Aksoy
PI Affiliation
Texas A&M University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-09-01
End date
2019-01-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Nearly half of US smartphone owners make an effort to limit their use, but only 30% succeed in doing so. Studies have linked increased smartphone usage to decreased worker productivity, increased traffic accidents, and reduced student learning. This study presents results from an encouragement design field experiment with Pocket Points, an app that acts as a commitment device and provides tangible incentives for curtailing smartphone usage in the classroom.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Aksoy, Billur, Scott Carrell and Lester Lusher. 2019. "Pocket Aces: Commitment and Incentives Against Smartphones for Students." AEA RCT Registry. March 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3329-2.0
Former Citation
Aksoy, Billur, Scott Carrell and Lester Lusher. 2019. "Pocket Aces: Commitment and Incentives Against Smartphones for Students." AEA RCT Registry. March 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3329/history/42934
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Students from Texas A&M will be recruited to participate in an online study. Approximately half will then be encouraged to download and use the Pocket Points app. At the end of the semester, both treatment and control students will complete a survey, and all students upon signing up for the experiment agree to release their academic transcripts.
Intervention Start Date
2018-09-24
Intervention End Date
2019-01-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Self-report classroom outcomes, including attendance, focus, and academic satisfaction, as well as academic outcomes collected via transcripts.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomization will be carried out at the individual student level, with each student being randomized into treatment or control. Treatment students will be nudged to use the Pocket Points app, while control students will receive no intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Electronically on Excel
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2,000 students
Sample size: planned number of observations
2,000 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximate 1,000 treatment, 1,000 control students
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Texas A&M Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2017-07-26
IRB Approval Number
IRB2017-0473D
Analysis Plan

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