Recalling Stories of Success: Will Present or Extreme Successes Motivate the Most?

Last registered on May 19, 2020

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Recalling Stories of Success: Will Present or Extreme Successes Motivate the Most?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005836
Initial registration date
May 19, 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
May 19, 2020, 2:01 PM EDT

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Copenhagen, Department of Political Science

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-06-01
End date
2020-06-30
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Research indicates that recalling previous successes cause an increase in motivation and job satisfaction. However, little is known about the specific character of these successes. Drawing on different streams of theories from the field of motivation research, the study examines how recalling different types of success stories from one's work life can affect one's job satisfaction and turnover intention.

The study is designed as a randomized survey experiment using different vignettes asking the respondents to recall different types of success stories. The respondents comprise a sample of Danish case workers.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hansen, Paw. 2020. "Recalling Stories of Success: Will Present or Extreme Successes Motivate the Most?." AEA RCT Registry. May 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5836-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention consists of different types of micro-interventions in an online survey. Respondents are asked to recollect different types of success stories from their work life.
Intervention Start Date
2020-06-01
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The study operates with to primary outcomes: 1) Job satisfaction and 2) Turnover intention
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1) Job satisfaction is measured with a single question asking how satisfied respondents are with their job overall
2) Turnover intention is measured as an index constructed based on responses to three survey items: (a) If it was up to me, I would be working a the same place a year from now (b) I often think about quitting this organization and (c) I intend to search for a position with another employer in the next year.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study involves a five-armed, parallel-design, individually randomized trial - in the form of a split ballot survey experiment. The experiment is carried out among a nonprobability sample of Danish caseworkers. Respondents are exposed to either one of four tasks of recalling a specific type of success story - or not asked to recall a success story but simply asked about job satisfaction and turnover intention and thus serves as a control.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is carried out by simple randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual survey respondent.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
400 individual respondents.
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 individual respondents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
80 individual respondents in each arm.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Under the assumption of 400 valid responses and balanced groups, the study is powered to enable detecting of effects of f > .197 with high statistical power (Power = .90; alpha = .05, two-tailed).
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

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