Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition
Technology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received inform...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2020-03-01
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| Series: | AERA Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420908536 |
| _version_ | 1819047912124973056 |
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| author | Jenna W. Kramer |
| author_facet | Jenna W. Kramer |
| author_sort | Jenna W. Kramer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Technology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received informational messages in distinct behavioral frames: business-as-usual, in which they received the same messages as the prior cohort; loss aversion, which emphasized what students would lose if they did not act; reduction of ambiguity, which provided details on necessary actions and anticipated completion times; and peer support, which encouraged students to work with friends on enrollment tasks. There was no main effect of the treatment frames. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that, at certain eligibility checkpoints, a loss aversion frame may negatively affect men and the peer support frame may negatively affect first-generation and Black participants. I situate the findings in the literature and recommend future directions for research on informational intervention delivery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:07:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ecefd8244b048448a83fa649913ec78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2332-8584 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:07:54Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AERA Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ecefd8244b048448a83fa649913ec782022-12-21T19:06:11ZengSAGE PublishingAERA Open2332-85842020-03-01610.1177/2332858420908536Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College TransitionJenna W. KramerTechnology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received informational messages in distinct behavioral frames: business-as-usual, in which they received the same messages as the prior cohort; loss aversion, which emphasized what students would lose if they did not act; reduction of ambiguity, which provided details on necessary actions and anticipated completion times; and peer support, which encouraged students to work with friends on enrollment tasks. There was no main effect of the treatment frames. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that, at certain eligibility checkpoints, a loss aversion frame may negatively affect men and the peer support frame may negatively affect first-generation and Black participants. I situate the findings in the literature and recommend future directions for research on informational intervention delivery.https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420908536 |
| spellingShingle | Jenna W. Kramer Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition AERA Open |
| title | Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition |
| title_full | Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition |
| title_short | Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition |
| title_sort | experimental evidence on the effects or lack thereof of informational framing during the college transition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420908536 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jennawkramer experimentalevidenceontheeffectsorlackthereofofinformationalframingduringthecollegetransition |