Does the power of a prayer matter to its affect on material aid?

Last registered on January 22, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does the power of a prayer matter to its affect on material aid?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005334
Initial registration date
January 21, 2020

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
January 22, 2020, 11:10 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Linda Thunstrom
Affiliation
University of Wyoming
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-01-28
End date
2020-02-10
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
prayer; collective; private; crowding out; natural disaster
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
People often respond to others' hardship by praying for them. Previous studies show that such prayers might come at the expense of reduced material aid. In other words, prayers might crowd out associated material aid for those in need. This effect arises because the prayer itself is perceived as directly helpful to the recipient. In this study, we design a randomized controlled trial to examine how the amount of crowding out is affected by the perceived power of the prayer. We do so by varying the type of prayer between collective and private -- a collective prayer is believed to be more efficient than the sum of individually conducted private prayers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Thunstrom, Linda. 2020. "Does the power of a prayer matter to its affect on material aid?." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5334-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will randomize participants into one of three treatments: baseline, private prayer and collective prayer. In baseline, they are only given the opportunity to donate money to the victims of the Australian wildfire. In the private prayer treatment, they will be given the opportunity to conduct a private prayer and/or donate, while in the collective prayer treatment, they will be given the opportunity to participate in an actual call for a collective prayer for the Australian wildfire victims, and/or donate.
Intervention Start Date
2020-01-28
Intervention End Date
2020-02-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The share of participants that choose to pray across the two prayer treatments, and the amount donated across all three treatments.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will recruit religious Christians only. They will be randomized into one of three treatments: baseline, private prayer and collective prayer. In the baseline treatment, they are only given the opportunity to donate money to the victims of the Australian wildfire. In the private prayer treatment, they will be given the opportunity to conduct a private prayer and/or donate, while in the collective prayer treatment, they will be given the opportunity to participate in an actual call for a collective prayer for the Australian wildfire victims, and/or donate.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Done by computer software (Qualtrics survey tool).
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
None.
Sample size: planned number of observations
480 religious Christians who reside in the U.S.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
160 participants in each treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board, University of Wyoming
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