Do people use thoughts and prayers as substitutes or complements to charity donations?

Last registered on December 10, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Do people use thoughts and prayers as substitutes or complements to charity donations?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004724
Initial registration date
September 18, 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
September 19, 2019, 11:57 AM EDT

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

Last updated
December 10, 2025, 5:05 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
National

Primary Investigator

Name
Linda Thunstrom
Affiliation
University of Wyoming
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jason Shogren
PI Affiliation
University of Wyoming
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-09-19
End date
2019-10-04
Keywords
Welfare
Additional Keywords
charity donations, thoughts, prayers
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In the U.S., major catastrophes are routinely followed by people offering their thoughts and prayers to those in need. It is, however, unknown how people may choose to substitute or complement such gestures with material help. We examine how charity donations to hurricane victims are affected by giving American donors the option to also send their thoughts and prayers. To perform our analysis, we collect experimental data in the wake of a hurricane We compare monetary donations in a baseline treatment where sending thoughts and prayers is not included in the donors’ choice set, to donations in a thoughts and prayer treatment, where donors can choose to complement or substitute monetary donations with thoughts or prayers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Shogren, Jason and Linda Thunstrom. 2025. "Do people use thoughts and prayers as substitutes or complements to charity donations?." AEA RCT Registry. December 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4724-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2019-09-19
Intervention End Date
2019-10-04

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The amount participants choose to donate to hurricane victims, via the Red Cross.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will collect data using Qualtrics panel. We will only recruit religious Christians and atheists/agnostics. Participants will be randomized into one of three treatments -- treatment baseline: they are offered to donate directly; treatment think, in which they are asked to choose to do one of three things: donate, send supporting thoughts to the victims + donate or send supporting thoughts only; treatment pray, in which they are asked to choose to do one of three things: they are offered to donate, send supporting prayers to the victims + donate or send supporting prayers only.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer (in Qualtrics software).
Randomization Unit
Each participant is randomized into one of the three treatments.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
756
Sample size: planned number of observations
756 Specifically: 282 atheists/agnostics 474 religious Christians
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment baseline: 141 atheists/agnostics plus 158 religious Christians
Treatment think: 141 atheists/agnostics plus 158 religious Christians
Treatment pray: 158 religious Christians

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Wyoming IRB
IRB Approval Date
2019-08-02
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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

Description
Addendum describing expanded treatments and replication study
Citation
Shogren, Jason and Linda Thunstrom. 2025. "Do people use thoughts and prayers as substitutes or complements to charity donations?." AEA RCT Registry. December 10. 2025. "Registration Entry Title: Addendum describing expanded treatments and replication study." AEA RCT Registry. December 10 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4724-1.1
File
Post registration addendum, AEA registry.pdf

MD5: b3f337b49b149c1073ef5859c5b4e31e

SHA1: 16fa6039f300384b19f2fdabd9fe92814621a428

Uploaded At: December 10, 2025