Eliciting Individuals’ Financial Decision-Making Approaches with Verbal Protocols

Last registered on February 11, 2021
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Eliciting Individuals’ Financial Decision-Making Approaches with Verbal Protocols
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007154
Initial registration date
February 10, 2021

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
February 11, 2021, 11:57 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
Online panel

Primary Investigator

Name
Thomas Post
Affiliation
Maastricht University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-08-26
End date
2019-08-28
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Financial decision-making approaches, Verbal protocols, Anchoring intervention, Annuity choice
JEL code(s)
D01, D11, D12, D14, D91
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In Study 1 (exploratory) we elicit using verbal protocols how people value an annuity. Then in Study 2, we run an RTC where we use the information from Study 1 to design an anchoring intervention targeted to stimulate annuity demand. The intervention conveys information on expected longevity/quintiles of the distribution to participants and subsequently measures their intent to buy annuities. The intervention is tested in an online sample.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Post, Thomas. 2021. "Eliciting Individuals’ Financial Decision-Making Approaches with Verbal Protocols." AEA RCT Registry. February 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7154-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
All participants see a vignette describing a person that has saved $500,000. In the intervention group (random 50% of the sample) we provide information on how long people might live ("Note, 25 percent of the U.S. population live up to age 90 (that is another 25 years after age 65)."). This information is based on current actuarial estimates (no deception).

Then we ask what they think how much this person aged 65 would receive as an annuity payout from an insurer per month.

Then we provide 50% of the sample with feedback on what currently insurers pay for $500,000 per month (2x2) design.

Finally we elicit the DV = interest in buying an annuity using a 7-point Likert scale (and other variables).
Intervention Start Date
2019-08-26
Intervention End Date
2019-08-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
DV = interest in buying an annuity using a 7-point Likert scale
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
All participants see a vignette describing a person that has saved $500,000. In the intervention group (random 50% of the sample) we provide information on how long people might live ("Note, 25 percent of the U.S. population live up to age 90 (that is another 25 years after age 65)."). This information is based on current actuarial estimates (no deception).

Then we ask what they think how much this person aged 65 would receive as an annuity payout from an insurer per month.

Then we provide 50% of the sample with feedback on what currently insurers pay for $500,000 per month (2x2) design.
Experimental Design Details
see the public part
Randomization Method
Randomization by Qualtrics software
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
200 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
200 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
control/no feedback: 50; control/feedback 50; intervention/no feedback 50; intervention/feedback 50
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
No power calculations were performed as before the RCT we had no information on the expected effect size and std, for example.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Maastricht University’s Ethical Review Committee Inner City Faculties
IRB Approval Date
2019-02-01
IRB Approval Number
ERCIC_115_16_01_2019
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
August 28, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
August 28, 2019, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
232
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
232 individuals
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
control/no feedback: 58; control/feedback 55; intervention/no feedback 60; intervention/feedback 59
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials