Polarization and openness to others

Last registered on July 31, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Polarization and openness to others
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008029
Initial registration date
August 04, 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
August 05, 2021, 5:22 AM EDT

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

Last updated
July 31, 2024, 5:05 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
GUGLIELMO BRISCESE
Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Michele Belot
PI Affiliation
Cornell University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-08-03
End date
2022-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Other
Additional Keywords
Polarization, political behavior
JEL code(s)
D63; D72; D91
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
There is growing evidence that people seek to avoid contact or exchange of information with others that have different views than theirs. In this study, we test whether raising people’s awareness about the fact that they share views on fundamental values (human rights) increases the willingness to listen to others who share different political views.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Belot, Michele and GUGLIELMO BRISCESE. 2024. "Polarization and openness to others ." AEA RCT Registry. July 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8029-4.2
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Main study participants (i.e., a representative sample of Americans) will be asked to choose whether they would like to listen to individuals expressing their (different) views on political issues. Participants are randomized into one of the control or two treatment groups; the treatment groups differ by the information shown prior to listening to others.
Intervention Start Date
2021-08-23
Intervention End Date
2022-04-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to engage and level of engagement, measured as number of times a respondent was willing to listen to others and the length of time they actually spent listening to others.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary outcome measures will be automatically recorded.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Change of views and firmness of views.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Secondary outcomes will include individuals' firmness of views before and after treatment as measured by 1-to-10 survey scale questions.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This multi-phase study will study individuals' willingness to listen to people with different views on important political topics. Interventions will consist in randomly assigned information about others that can potentially increase individuals' willingness to engage with peers who hold different views on the selected topics. The study will take place in the U.S. and the main study phase will include a representative sample of Americans.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by a software.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization of the individual (i.e. the survey respondent).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The main experiment will include approximately 2,500 respondents randomly allocated across one control and two treatment groups. Participants will not be clustered.
Sample size: planned number of observations
For each respondent we will collect behavioral (i.e., actions) and survey-based outcomes as specified in the pre-analysis plan.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We expect each of the three groups (1 control and 2 treatment) to be approximately of the same size.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Power calculations are attached to the pre-analysis plan.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Cornell University Office of Research Integrity and Assurance
IRB Approval Date
2021-06-16
IRB Approval Number
2105010352
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Analysis plan, including power calculations

MD5: 5c1765a95b9e4bdce07dc1519824b8d7

SHA1: b4dcea2c04c824b9ef8f3e30ad86aec8250c4e57

Uploaded At: August 02, 2021

Updated analysis plan

MD5: d9aa9f6a36fbf3acb536797ac72c14b9

SHA1: bede1c9ef789209247182bda3f73c5695330a0b5

Uploaded At: March 30, 2022

Donations survey PAP.pdf

MD5: 06e0426c27b7cc83b0f53b88578d10c6

SHA1: 2f77628e359a507816fa8984b6f5117fbaafad55

Uploaded At: January 25, 2024

WTE PAP

MD5:

SHA1:

Uploaded At: July 31, 2024

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
April 10, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 20, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
No clusters.
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
2,507 individuals (no clusters)
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
842 in Control, 827 in T1, and 838 in T2 groups.
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
We study individuals' willingness to engage with others who hold opposite views on polarizing policies. A representative sample of 2,507 US citizens are given the choice to listen to recordings of fellow countrymen and women expressing their views on immigration, abortion laws and gun ownership laws. We find that most Americans (more than two-thirds) are willing to listen to a view opposite to theirs, and a fraction (ten percent) reports changing their views as a result. We provide experimental evidence that emphasizing common grounds with those who think differently helps bridging views and reducing polarization, particularly on divisive policies.
Citation
Belot, Michele, and Guglielmo Briscese. "Bridging America's Divide on Abortion, Guns and Immigration: An Experimental Study." arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.13652 (2022).
URL
https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/17444.html

Reports & Other Materials