Personality Based Nudges for Extension Agents

Last registered on March 10, 2026

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Personality Based Nudges for Extension Agents

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008757

Initial registration date

January 04, 2022

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

January 06, 2022, 5:32 PM EST

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

Last updated

March 10, 2026, 10:37 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Rwanda

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Martin Abel

Affiliation

Middlebury College

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Michael Kremer

PI Affiliation

PI Name

PI Affiliation

PI Name

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2021-08-18

End date

2023-12-31

Keywords

Agriculture, Labor

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

This study examines how customizing motivational messages for volunteer agents by personality traits influences performance and motivation in the context of agricultural extension in Rwanda. We administered a phone survey with 10,187 village agricultural volunteers (FPs) to gather personality traits using Susceptibility to Persuasion Scale (STPS) questions and designed four sets of SMS task reminders that appeal to four different STPS personality traits. We then randomly assigned volunteers to receive (i) no SMS messages, (ii) randomly assigned SMS messages, (iii) personality-matched messages, or (iv) personality-mismatched messages. In addition we cross-randomize whether FPs receive a reminder of the performance goals they set. We will compare self-reported performance and motivation among agents across experimental groups using a combination of phone survey data and administrative data.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Abel, Martin et al. 2026. "Personality Based Nudges for Extension Agents." AEA RCT Registry. March 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8757-1.2

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention (Hidden)

Intervention Start Date

2021-08-20

Intervention End Date

2022-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Number of farmers FPs helped register for subsidized inputs, number of farmers purchased subsidized inputs, number of training meetings FPs held on their demonstration plots, and number of farmers FPs trained on their demonstration plots, and number of farmers picked up trees on the individual tree distribution day

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We administered a phone survey with 10,187 village agricultural volunteers to gather personality traits using Susceptibility to Persuasion Scale (STPS) questions and designed four sets of SMS task reminders that appeal to four different STPS personality traits. We then randomly assigned volunteers to receive (i) no SMS messages, (ii) randomly assigned SMS messages, (iii) personality-matched messages, or (iv) personality-mismatched messages. In addition we cross-randomize whether FPs receive a reminder of the performance goals they set. We will compare self-reported performance and motivation among agents across experimental groups using a combination of phone survey data and administrative data.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

We conduct randomization using the Stata program on a computer in an office.

Randomization Unit

Individual farmer prompter level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

N/A

Sample size: planned number of observations

10,187 farmer promoters.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Control with goal reminder group (C.a): 1,274
Control without goal reminder group (C.b): 1,273
Random message with goal reminder group (T1.a): 1,273
Random message without goal reminder group (T1.b): 1,274
Matching message with goal reminder group (T2.a): 1,273
Matching message without goal reminder group (T2.b): 1,273
Mismatching message with goal reminder group (T3.a): 1,274
Mismatching message without goal reminder group (T3.b): 1,273

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

If we are able to collect outcomes from all farmer promoters (10,187), we will be able to detect a 4.3% increase in number of farmers FPs helped register for subsidized inputs, 2.8% increase in number of training meetings FPs held on their demonstration plots, and 3.7% increase in number of farmers FPs trained on their demonstration plots, with 80% power at 5% significance.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB