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Can theories of social identity help increase uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine?

Last registered on April 07, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Can theories of social identity help increase uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007478
Initial registration date
April 06, 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
April 07, 2021, 10:34 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Lucas Reddinger
Affiliation
UCSB
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Gary Charness
PI Affiliation
UCSB
Contact Investigator
PI Name
David Levine
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley Haas
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-04-07
End date
2021-04-30
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
COVID-19, vaccine, vaccination, hesitancy, messaging, marketing, health, attitudes, uptake, public policy, public health, SARS-CoV-2
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
To end the COVID-19 pandemic without millions of deaths, the United States needs very high uptake of a vaccine. We hypothesize that we can apply theories of social identity to design effective, targeted messaging to reduce vaccine hesitancy among sub-populations where vaccine resistance is high (e.g., African Americans, political conservatives) or vaccine importance is high (e.g., the elderly). We will test if intent to take a hypothetical vaccine is higher if each segment receives customized messages about risks of COVID-19 to oneself, risks to others, endorsement of the vaccine, and benefits of the vaccine.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Charness, Gary, David Levine and Lucas Reddinger. 2021. "Can theories of social identity help increase uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine?." AEA RCT Registry. April 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7478-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Consult attached documents.
Intervention Start Date
2021-04-07
Intervention End Date
2021-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Stated intent to take a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine. Stated delay to take a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine. Stated intent to obtain a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine for one’s child.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We survey US residents on the Prolific survey platform. Our goal is to survey individuals who have not yet taken a COVID-19 vaccine dose. Because Prolific offers a pre-screening question on this, we start with individuals who have previously reported to Prolific as not yet having taken a vaccine dose (N=5912 as of April 2). Because this status changes quickly for individuals, we conduct our own pre-screening as well. We will target recruitment towards African-Americans, people who identify as Hispanic or Latina/o/x, people who voted for Trump in 2020, and those who participate in weekly religious activities.

The survey begins with an introduction and some demographic questions.

Treatment depends on five particular segments: African-Americans, those who identify as Hispanic or Latina/o/x, those who report having voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election (or if neither a Biden nor Trump voter, consider themselves conservative), those who report participating in weekly religious activities, and parents. Because subjects can be members of multiple segments, we have 32 sub-segments in total on which treatment may depend.

We present message components about a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine. Some message components are shown to all subjects. Other message components vary between subjects, dependent on the subject’s sub-segment. For example, a Black parent’s message components will be randomly drawn from one set, whereas a religious conservative’s message components will be randomly drawn from a different set. These are outlined in the attached supporting documents.

After receiving about 10 message components, subjects are given an incentivized manipulation check question. Subjects are then asked questions about their intent to vaccinate, their intended delay in vaccination, their intent to vaccinate their children (if a parent), and their history of COVID-19.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Qualtrics balanced randomizers.
Randomization Unit
Treatment is jointly determined by individual-level randomization and individual characteristics.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Individual characteristics result in 32 sub-segment quasi-clusters.
Sample size: planned number of observations
6,500 to 7,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The experiment creates an intensity of treatment. For exact randomization procedures, please consult attached documents.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UCSB Human Subjects Committee
IRB Approval Date
2020-10-01
IRB Approval Number
60-20-0658
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Analysis Plan

MD5: c28fb1138fb41539d3f3c0045288fc25

SHA1: 9b07dca1fabd9514ee65cd7f7f64b06305946839

Uploaded At: April 06, 2021

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