We Don’t Talk About Boys: An Experiment on Masculinity Norms in Brazil

Last registered on June 06, 2022

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

We Don’t Talk About Boys: An Experiment on Masculinity Norms in Brazil

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0009508

Initial registration date

June 02, 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

June 06, 2022, 5:15 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Brazil

Region

Latin America

Primary Investigator

Name

Ieda Matavelli

Affiliation

UBC

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2022-06-15

End date

2023-04-30

Keywords

Behavior, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Gender

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

J16 D90 C93

Secondary IDs

Prior work

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

Abstract

Social norms are sometimes misperceived, which has consequences for important
economic outcomes. However, little is known about why misperceptions exist in the first place. This project
focuses on the role of communication in shaping misperceptions, which I study in the context of masculinity
norms among 7th to 9th graders in urban Brazil, in collaboration with the Secretariat of Education of the
City of Rio. The study assigns treatment children to discussion groups to learn peers’ opinions about two
traditional beliefs about masculinity: men who cry are weak and men should use violence to get respect if necessary. To further investigate different types of communicators, half of treatment discussion groups allow children to volunteer to speak (vocal group) and half of treatment discussion groups randomly pre-select students to be invited to share (representative group). Control discussion groups focus on a masculinity-neutral topic (recycling).

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Matavelli, Ieda. 2022. "We Don’t Talk About Boys: An Experiment on Masculinity Norms in Brazil." AEA RCT Registry. June 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9508-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

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

Request Information

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2022-06-15

Intervention End Date

2022-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Measured Immediately After Treatment
- Misperceptions with respect to two beliefs about masculinity: Men Who Cry Are Weak and Men Should Use Violence to Get Respect if Necessary
- Social image concerns with respect to self-reports on the last time they cried and the last time they initiated a physical fight, and antisocial behavior, measured by a form of the Joy of Destruction Game

Measured About 3 Weeks After Treatment
- Misperceptions with respect to two beliefs about masculinity: Men Who Cry Are Weak and Men Should Use Violence to Get Respect if Necessary
- Peer reports on aggressive behaviors, conflict resolution, emotion-sharing, and respect towards girls

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Misperceptions are defined as the difference, in percentage points, between students' prediction of the percentage of boys and girls in their school classroom they think agree with the statements Men Who Cry Are Weak and Men Should Use Violence to Get Respect if Necessary and the actual percentage of boys and girls who agree with each statement.

To estimate social image concerns, participants’ answers to the endline survey are randomized to a private (Your answers will not be discussed with the other people in this room) or a public (Your answers might be discussed with the other people in this room) arm.

For the peer reports, participants will be asked to indicate whether their male' peers have 1) Used inappropriate language, 2) Committed any form of physical aggression, 3) Helped to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way, 4) Showed to be a sensitive person, and 5) Been respectful towards girls.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Measured Immediately After Treatment
- First-order beliefs about Men Who Cry Are Weak and Men Should Use Violence to Get Respect if Necessary (unlikely to be affected)
- Social acceptance of crying and acting violently, illustrated by 3 vignettes

Measured About 3 Weeks After Treatment
- First-order beliefs about Men Who Cry Are Weak and Men Should Use Violence to Get Respect if Necessary
- Self-reported behaviors about whether have participated in a physical fight, have cried in front of someone, have had a deep conversation with a friend
- Instagram post about "positive" masculinity

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

The vignettes describe 3 situations. First, a boy who punches a classmate after he refused to lend him a pen. Second, a sensitive boy who prefers to withhold his emotions to avoid being judged by his friends. Third, a girl who refuses to date a sensitive boy. I then ask whether the participant 1) would act the same way as the vignette's character, 2) think the character acted in a correct way and 3) how socially acceptable is the character's behavior at their school.

Experimental Design

For each participating school and classroom:

1) Classes are randomly split into three groups:

Masculinity Vocal (Treatment 1) X Recycling (Control)
Masculinity Representative (Treatment 2) X Recycling (Control)
Masculinity Vocal (Treatment 1) X Representative (Treatment 2)

2) Within classrooms, students are randomized into one of the groups Masculinity Vocal (Treatment 1), Masculinity Representative (Treatment 2), and Recycling (Control).

The intervention consists of a ≈20 minutes discussion about Masculinity (treatment group) or Recycling practices (control group). Masculinity groups are further split into two types of discussion. In the first, referred to as Masculinity Vocal, subjects are asked to voluntarily speak during their session. In the second, called Masculinity Representative, subjects are drawn ex-ante and called to speak in random order.

Randomization is stratified by sex, and it takes place ex-ante, based on the student list sent by the school Principal.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

Classrooms, students

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

80-100 classrooms

Sample size: planned number of observations

2,000-2,500 students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Rough sample size*:
700 students in Masculinity Vocal
700 students in Masculinity Representative
700 students in Control

*The sample size will depend on students' attendance on the day the study takes place and on the number of students who consented to participate.

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB