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Testing effects of loss framing and checklists: evidence from a field experiment on wellness program participation in Philadelphia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Syon P. Bhanot Open the ORCID record for Syon P. Bhanot [Opens in a new window] ,
Christina A. Roberto ,
Anjali Chainani ,
Charles Williamson  and
Mehra den Braven
Syon P. Bhanot*
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, USA
Christina A. Roberto
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Anjali Chainani
Affiliation:
The City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
Charles Williamson
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, USA
Mehra den Braven
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, USA
*
e-mail: sbhanot1@swarthmore.edu
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Abstract

Loss framing and checklist formatting are two oft-cited tools for encouraging behavior change, but there is little causal evidence on their impact in field settings. We partnered with the City of Philadelphia to test the effectiveness of these tools to increase completion of the City’s wellness program. In our experiment, 5235 City employees and retirees were randomly assigned to receive one of four postcard versions (using a 2 × 2 design), whereby we varied both framing (gain or loss) and how instructions were provided (information only or information in checklist format). Our results suggest that neither loss framing nor the checklist formatting significantly influenced the likelihood that individuals would complete the wellness tasks, or how quickly they completed the tasks. We conclude that this specific form of employee behavior may be difficult to influence through the “passive” behavioral interventions we tested, and suggest that a more “active” approach may be required in such instances.

Keywords

Behavioral economicsChecklistsLoss framingExperimentRandomized control trialEvidence-based policy

JEL classification

H75: State and Local Government: Health • Education • Welfare • Public Pensions D90: General‡ I12: Health Behavior C93: Field Experiments
Type
Original Paper
Information
Journal of the Economic Science Association , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , December 2019 , pp. 210 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Economic Science Association 2019

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40881-019-00077-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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