Reference no: EM133372464
Reminders Through Association Can Be More Effective Than Written Reminders
Traditional written reminder messages can effectively pro- mote follow-through sometimes (e.g., Karlan et al., 2014) but not always (e.g., Nickerson, 2007). While in some cases, written reminders may render the reminders-through- association approach unnecessary, one context in which traditional written reminders may be less valuable than reminders through association is when they are posted in environments with many other similar, written signs that compete for attention (i.e., when they are not concurrently distinctive). In Study 3, we compared reminders through association with traditional, written reminder messages in a visual context crowded with many other written messages.
Method
Participants. Participants were recruited through MTurk to complete 5-min online survey for which they were paid $0.50 each. Only MTurk workers located in the United States who had not participated in previous similar studies were eligible. The study was opened to 250 par- ticipants, a sample size that was predetermined on the basis of pilot testing. Two hundred forty-nine participants (59% male, 41% female; mean age = 32 years) completed the study before it was closed.
Method. All participants first read the same message about Gardens for Health that was used in Studies 2a and 2b. Only participants who reported intending to take the action needed to donate to Gardens for Health were included in the study (76% reported having the intention). Those who did not report that they intended to donate were not per- mitted to continue with the survey. Each participant was then randomly assigned by the survey platform to one of three experimental conditions: the reminder-through-asso- ciation condition, the written-reminder condition, or the control condition. Participants in the control condition then read the following information:
In this survey you will have an opportunity to support a charitable organization called Gardens for Health that provides lasting agricultural solutions to address the problem of chronic childhood malnutrition. After this page, you will begin a survey of 10 questions. On the 10th question, please choose the answer "none of the above," no matter your opinion. If you follow these directions, we will donate $0.30 to Gardens for Health.
Participants in the two treatment conditions read the same text as those in the control condition, except that before the final line of text they were told that either a sign (written-reminder condition; Fig. 6) or an image (reminder-through-association condition; Fig. 7) would be a reminder to answer "none of the above."
All participants then viewed the same ;pages, each with a picture of a store checkout counter and a single survey question about the picture. Six of these pictures of store checkout counters included visible written signs. The picture on the 10th page also featured a checkout counter with a cash register, but the contents of the coun- ter differed across conditions (see Fig. 8 for photos). The counter in the control condition contained no reminder message and no flyers or promotional signs. The counter in the written-reminder condition contained a written reminder message as well as other flyers and promo- tional signs. The counter in the reminder-through- association condition contained the same flyers and promotional signs as in the written-reminder condition, except that in place of the written reminder message was the distinctive-cue image that had been associated with included several irrelevant written messages across treatment conditions, the alien cue in the reminder- through-association condition was more concurrently distinctive than the written reminder in the written- reminder condition.
Results and discussion
Participants in the reminder-through-association condition performed the intended behavior at a higher rate (92%) than those in both the written-reminder condition (78%), χ2(1, N = 126) = 5.02, p = .025, and those in the control condition (71%), χ2(1, N = 126) = 8.99, p = .003. There was no significant difference in the rate of follow- through between participants in the control condition and the written-reminder condition, χ2(1, N = 126) = 0.670, p = .413. While written reminders can sometimes be highly effective (e.g., Karlan et al., 2014), in environments with many stimuli competing for attention, reminders through association can be more effective than written reminder messages.
Answer these questions:
Hypothesis: Cues that are relatively dissimilar from other stimuli that are encountered con- currently, or that have been encountered in the recent past, are more likely to trigger the recall of associated memories (Brandimonte & Passolunghi, 1994; McDaniel & Einstein, 1993).
- Read and outline the Experiment:
- Identify The hypothesis
- Identify The independent variable(s)
- Identify The dependent variable(s)
- Identify Manipulation checks, if any
- Checks on possible confounding variables, if any
- The total number of participants
- The results.
- The interpretation. Did the findings support the hypothesis? (Explain.)
2. Read through the rest of the article. Pick one follow-up experiment and explain why the authors conducted the experiment and what they found.
3. Describe at least one question or concern you have about the article.
4. Describe at least one idea that you think merits inclusion in your project