Climate Change and Diet: A Persuasive Message Approach to Increasing Cooperation - Wave 2

Last registered on March 24, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Climate Change and Diet: A Persuasive Message Approach to Increasing Cooperation - Wave 2
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005584
Initial registration date
March 23, 2020
Last updated
March 24, 2020, 10:59 AM EDT

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Sgroi
Affiliation
University of Warwick
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Thomas Hills
PI Affiliation
University of Warwick
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Neha Bose
PI Affiliation
University of Warwick
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-03-30
End date
2020-06-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Q54, D91, C83
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The study aims to examine the effectiveness of different persuasive messages in increasing cooperation levels to a public good. The public good considered in the study is climate change and the key cooperative action is reducing meat consumption to combat climate change. The study will explore different messages to address the different barriers to cooperation.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bose, Neha, Thomas Hills and Daniel Sgroi. 2020. "Climate Change and Diet: A Persuasive Message Approach to Increasing Cooperation - Wave 2." AEA RCT Registry. March 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5584-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This is an online survey experiment to see the differential impact of persuasive messages on beliefs about the efficacy of actions that combat climate change and desire to modify own behaviour with regards to climate change.
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-30
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome variable will be the change in the number of days the subject will consume meat in a week after reading the persuasive message and willingness to donate a part of their earnings to a charitable organisation for fighting climate change.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
The secondary outcome variables will include the change in beliefs about climate change and diet.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study will be an online survey experiment. This study is an extension of a prior registered study - AEA RCT Registry, RCT ID: AEARCTR-0005069. Subjects will be compensated equally no matter their response during the study. The basic design involves asking subjects about their prior beliefs about climate change and the relationship between climate change and diet. Following this, subjects will be allocated to one of 3 treatment groups. The control group will remain the same as RCT ID: AEARCTR-0005069. In the control group, subjects will have received scientific information about the impact of meat consumption on the climate. In the treatment groups, in addition to scientific facts about climate and diet, subjects will receive either a response efficacy message or information linking meat consumption and animal welfare or a social norms message. Following this, they will be questioned to see if their beliefs have altered about climate change and diet and if they will be willing to donate a part of their earnings to a charity working to combat climate change. Also, they will be asked their intention to reduce meat consumption. The experiment will end with some basic demographic questions like age, gender, political affiliation and family history of diseases.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
Randomization is at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No clustering. 525 observations in total will be collected.
Sample size: planned number of observations
525 subjects
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
175 subjects in each of the 3 treatment conditions (In order to collect 175 per group, we will collect 200 observations per condition to allow for insincere responses and auto-fills)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee, University of Warwick
IRB Approval Date
2019-10-18
IRB Approval Number
HSSREC 03/19-20
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