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Short-Term Economic Effects of Psychological Affirmation and Goal-Setting Interventions

Last registered on January 14, 2016
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Light-Touch Psychosocial Interventions: Aspirations and Self-Affirmation
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000991
Initial registration date
January 14, 2016

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 14, 2016, 6:17 PM EST

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

Last updated
January 14, 2016, 6:18 PM EST

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

Locations

Country
Kenya
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Richard Sedlmayr
Affiliation
University of Oxford
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Kate Orkin
PI Affiliation
Oxford University
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PI Name
Stefan Dercon
PI Affiliation
Oxford University
PI Name
Rob Garlick
PI Affiliation
Duke University
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PI Name
Johannes Haushofer
PI Affiliation
Princeton University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2015-07-01
End date
2016-06-01
Keywords
Welfare
Additional Keywords
aspirations, self-affirmation
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study explores the short-term economic effects, as well as mediating behavioral and psychological effects, of two light-touch psychosocial media interventions in rural Western Kenya.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Dercon, Stefan et al. 2016. "Light-Touch Psychosocial Interventions: Aspirations and Self-Affirmation." AEA RCT Registry. January 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.991-2.0
Former Citation
Dercon, Stefan et al. 2016. "Light-Touch Psychosocial Interventions: Aspirations and Self-Affirmation." AEA RCT Registry. January 14. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/991/history/6567
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
(1) A pure control group is not being surveyed until the endline

Three interventions are being delivered:
(2) A self-affirmation intervention involving two videos plus an exercise to encourage people to reflect on their strengths and values
(3) An aspirational intervention involving two videos plus an exercise to encourage optimistic, future-oriented thinking
(4) A placebo intervention involving two videos plus an exercise that includes information from the other videos, but excludes what are presumed to be the active (self-affirmation or aspiration) ingredients

Arms 2,3, and 4 are cross-cut with individual (A) versus group (B) treatment delivery



Intervention Start Date
2015-11-09
Intervention End Date
2016-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
A broad set of outcomes are explored. The primary outcomes of interest are:

1. Economic outcomes, including poverty indicators (income, consumption, assets) and future-oriented investments (allocation of time and finances; educational and health behaviors)

2. A broad set of psychological and behavioral measures related to future orientation and motivation, including: risk and time preferences, cognitive control, effort, aspirations (incl MacArthur scale), generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, life satisfaction, perceived stress, optimism and hope, impulsiveness, grit, depression, self-esteem.

Furthermore, we investigate:
- Opinions about the causes of poverty
- Recall of the intervention
- Fertility-related opinions and behaviors
- Civic participation
- Participation in social networks (communication about goals and plans; challenges and bad experiences, gifts and loans)
- Village and Market visits
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
1.Pure control
2A.Self-affirmations, individual
2B.Self-affirmations, group
3A.Aspirations, individual
3B.Aspirations, group
4A.Placebo, individual
4B.Placebo, group
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer
Randomization Unit
Both village level and individual level. Within treatment villages, spillover groups are formed.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
144 (treatment arms plus placebo) plus 16 (pure control)
Sample size: planned number of observations
4194 (3634 successfully baselined plus 560 pure controls)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1.Pure control: 16 villages x 35 subjects = 560. no baseline.
2A.Self-affirmations, individual: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 574
2B.Self-affirmations, group: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 621
3A.Aspirations, individual: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 625
3B.Aspirations, group: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 622
4A.Placebo, individual: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 570
4B.Placebo, group: offered: 24 villages x 30 subjects = 720. successfully baselined: 622
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Social Science & Humanities Inter-Divisional Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2014-08-26
IRB Approval Number
SSD/CUREC1A/14-173
Analysis Plan

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