Information, motivated memory and goal setting in health habit formation

Last registered on December 14, 2020

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Information, motivated memory and goal setting in health habit formation

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0006892

Initial registration date

December 13, 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

December 14, 2020, 10:28 AM EST

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

Locations

Country

China

Region

Sichuan

Primary Investigator

Name

Wenbo Zou

Affiliation

Nankai University, Tianjin, China

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Jingyi Meng

PI Affiliation

Nankai University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2020-06-15

End date

2021-06-30

Keywords

Behavior, Health

Additional Keywords

Goal-setting

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

In this study, we examine whether providing information about past behavior influences how people set and implement goals in a walking-for-health project.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Meng, Jingyi and Wenbo Zou. 2020. "Information, motivated memory and goal setting in health habit formation ." AEA RCT Registry. December 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6892-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We provide participants of a walking-for-health project summary information about their past behavior in Phase I of the project.

Intervention Start Date

2020-12-14

Intervention End Date

2020-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

-The goal in terms of the number of days to walk more than 8000 steps for a month.
-The number of days to walk more than 8000 days for a month in each of the six months, as well as the average number of days for a month.
-The reported average number of days that they walk more than 8000 steps in a month for the past five months.
-The reported number of months meeting the goal in the past five months.
-The reported number of days short or long of the goal in each month in the past five months (for those in the Original-Goal and Reduced-Goal groups, and those with a self-set goal in the control group and among the non-participants of Phase I); the reported number of days walking more than 8000 steps in each month (for those without a self-set goal in the control group and among the non-participants of Phase I).

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

In the experiment, we randomly divide participants into two treatments, one receiving the information while the other not. Then participants set a goal for Phase II of the project. They also receive a monthly certificate for each month indicating whether their goal is met.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by assigning alternating numbers of 1 and 2 to participants sorted by their groups and then enrollment order.

Randomization Unit

Individual.

Was the treatment clustered?