The Behavioralist Goes Door-To-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment

Last registered on August 02, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Behavioralist Goes Door-To-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004492
Initial registration date
July 31, 2019

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
August 02, 2019, 3:32 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Alabama

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2010-01-01
End date
2018-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This paper uses a field experiment to estimate behavioral parameters in a structural model of residential adoption of technology. By embracing both economic and psychological factors, we are able to identify the role of prices, social norms, social pressure, and curiosity on the adoption decision. We find that prices and social norms influence the adoption decision along different margins, opening up the opportunity for economics and psychology to be strong complements in the diffusion process. In addition, welfare estimates from our structural model point to important household heterogeneities: whereas some consumers welcome the opportunity to purchase and learn about the new technology, for others the inconvenience and social pressure of the ask results in negative welfare. As a whole, our findings highlight that the design of optimal technological diffusion policies will require multiple instruments and a recognition of individual household heterogeneities.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Giaccherini, Matilde et al. 2019. "The Behavioralist Goes Door-To-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. August 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4492-1.0
Former Citation
Giaccherini, Matilde et al. 2019. "The Behavioralist Goes Door-To-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. August 02. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4492/history/51096
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date
2010-05-01
Intervention End Date
2010-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Decision to interact with Solicitor, Purchasing Quantity
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our field experiment was implemented by offering to households up to 2 packages of Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) in a door-to-door design (each package contained 4 CFLs). The sample approached in 11 suburbs of Chicago (Arlington Heights, Elmwood Park, Evanston, Lemont, Libertyville, Oak Park, Glen Ellyn, River Forest, Roselle, Skokie, and Wheaton) had higher median incomes than in the U.S. average. Households were approached during a day during weekends by University of Chicago students employed through the Becker Center at the University of Chicago. Students were hired upon responding to job advertisements placed around the campus of the University of Chicago and on the University's main electronic help wanted web site (marketplace.uchicago.edu). Students spent Saturdays and Sundays to approach households over 4 one-hour blocks of time: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., 11 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Households were grouped into blocks containing roughly 25 houses. Each block of houses was randomly assigned to a combination of treatments.
• In total, there are 18 treatment cells in the experimental design, such as warning treatments (no flyer, warning, opt-out), social norm treatments (Neutral Frame, social norm low, social norm high) and two different prices (high price and low price). A team of researchers and interns placed flyers on households in the Warning and Opt-Out treatments the day prior to the students visiting households. These flyers informed the household that it would be visited the following day by someone with an “offer for purchase and discuss energy saving light bulb options”. Subjects in the Opt-Out condition had the possibility of sorting out by checking the appropriate box in the flyer. The student (i.e. salesperson) used a script to tempt people to buy the CFLs. The scripts varied in two ways: stated social norm and sale price of CFL package. We set our baseline price for a package of 4 CFLs at $5.00 and we included one other price point, a low price of $1.00. In order to incorporate social norms, a script without a statement of social norms (Neutral Frame treatment), and two treatments involving a statement of social norms, “Social Norm Low” and ``Social Norm High”. Social Norm Low contained the phrase: “For instance, did you know that 70% of U.S. households own at least one CFL?” while the Social Norm High treatment containde the phrase: “For instance, did you know that 70% of the households that we surveyed in this area own at least one CFL?”
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Households were grouped into blocks containing roughly 25 houses. Each block of houses was randomly
assigned to a treatment (18 treatments in total). For the entire experiment, a total of 8815 households were approached.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
164 household blocks
Sample size: planned number of observations
8815 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Number of households approached for each treatment group:
$1, No Social Norm, No Warning: 480
$1, No Social Norm, Warning: 474
$1, No Social Norm, Opt-Out: 473
$1, Low Social Norm, No Warning: 447
$1, Low Social Norm, Warning: 508
$1, Low Social Norm, Opt-Out: 535
$1, High Social Norm, No Warning: 454
$1, High Social Norm, Warning: 469
$1, High Social Norm, Opt-Out: 481
$5, No Social Norm, No Warning: 435
$5, No Social Norm, Warning: 546
$5, No Social Norm, Opt-Out: 501
$5, Low Social Norm, No Warning: 493
$5, Low Social Norm, Warning: 544
$5, Low Social Norm, Opt-Out: 491
$5, High Social Norm, No Warning: 431
$5, High Social Norm, Warning: 511
$5, High Social Norm, Opt-Out: 542
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The University of Chicago Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2009-05-20
IRB Approval Number
H09367

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