Intervention (Hidden)
Subjects will conduct the experiment via an online platform. The questions are posed in German, with translations provided below.
Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of ten treatment groups, and each subject takes decisions in three consecutive stages.
TREATMENT 1a:
Stage 1: baseline level of support
[Question wording:]
“Are you in favor of or against the participation of the unemployed in further training courses?”
[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely in favor”, 2=”somewhat in favor”, 3=”neither in favor nor against”, 4=”somewhat against”, 5=”completely against”
Stage 2: vignette
[Vignette]:
“Please imagine the following situation:
Mr. Schmidt is 51 years old, a trained retail salesman and has been unemployed for 9 months. For the last 20 years, he worked as a salesman for a car dealership until it had to close.
The Federal Employment Agency informs him by letter that it registered him for a 4-week further training course on computer use. If he does not object within the next two weeks, Mr. Schmidt is obliged to participate in the course.
Mr. Schmidt participates in the training course.”
[Question wording:]
“Are you in favor of or against the Federal Employment Agency’s described practice to bindingly register the unemployed for further training courses if they do not object to the registration?”
[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely in favor”, 2=”somewhat in favor”, 3=”neither in favor nor against”, 4=”somewhat against”, 5=”completely against”
Stage 3: beliefs about psychological mechanisms
[Question wording:]
“How much do you agree with the following statements about the described practice?”
[Items:]
1. “The procedure restricts the unemployed’s freedom of decision.”
2. “Due to the procedure, the unemployed are more likely to believe that they will find a new job more quickly due to further training courses.”
3. “The procedure increases the social pressure on the unemployed.”
4. “Participation in further training improves the labor market chances of the unemployed.”
5. “The procedure is generally good for the unemployed.”
[Answer categories:]
5-point scale: 1=”completely agree”, 2=”somewhat agree”, 3=”neither agree nor disagree”, 4=”somewhat disagree”, 5=”completely disagree”
TREATMENT 2a:
Identical to Treatment 1a, except that the last sentence in the vignette is replaced by the following paragraph:
“Mr. Schmidt does not read the letter and because of this does not know that he has two weeks to object to the registration. After the deadline expired, the Federal Employment Agency informs him that he is now bindingly registered. Therefore, he participates in the training course.”
TREATMENT 3a:
Identical to Treatment 1a, except that the last sentence in the vignette is replaced by the following paragraph:
“Because the Federal Employment Agency registered him for the training course he believes that his participation will help him to find a new job more quickly. Therefore, he participates in the training course.”
TREATMENT 4a:
Identical to Treatment 1a, except that the last sentence in the vignette is replaced by the following paragraph:
“Due to his registration by the Federal Employment Agency he feels pressured to participate in the training course and therefore does not dare to opt out. Therefore, he participates in the training course.”
TREATMENT 1b:
Identical to Treatment 1a, except that the first paragraph in the vignette is extended by the following sentence:
“Mr. Schmidt is undecided as to whether or not he would like to do a further training course.”
TREATMENT 2b:
Identical to Treatment 2a, except that the first paragraph in the vignette is extended by the following sentence:
“Mr. Schmidt is undecided as to whether or not he would like to do a further training course.”
TREATMENT 2b’:
Identical to Treatment 2b, except that the last paragraph in the vignette is replaced by the following paragraph:
“Mr. Schmidt does not read the letter because the post office delivered it incorrectly and therefore does not know that he has two weeks to object to the registration. After the deadline expired, the Federal Employment Agency informs him that he is now bindingly registered. Therefore, he participates in the training course.”
TREATMENT 3b:
Identical to Treatment 3a, except that the first paragraph in the vignette is extended by the following sentence:
“Mr. Schmidt is undecided as to whether or not he would like to do a further training course.”
TREATMENT 4b:
Identical to Treatment 4a, except that the first paragraph in the vignette is extended by the following sentence:
“Mr. Schmidt is undecided as to whether or not he would like to do a further training course.”
TREATMENT 4b’:
Identical to Treatment 4b, except that the last paragraph in the vignette is replaced by the following paragraph:
“Because the Federal Employment Agency registered him for a further training course, he believes that society expects him to participate in the training. Therefore, he participates in the training course.”