American Insecurity: Why Our Economic Fears Lead to Political Inaction

Materials for Experiments in Chapter 5

MATERIALS FOR EDUCATION EXPERIMENTS WITH U.S. PIRG

Thank you for participating.

The purpose of this experiment is to understand how people make decisions. In this experiment you will engage in one (and only one) decision-making task, and then you will answer a series of questions.

The experiment has two parts, Part I and Part II. In Part I you will engage in the one decision-making task of the experiment. In Part II you will answer a series of questions. There is no decision-making task in Part II.

Please read all questions and instructions carefully, and circle your responses.

Next Page
Part I
In Part I you will first be presented with information about a real national organization. Then you will be asked to engage in the one and only one decision-making task of the entire experiment.

Next Page; Subjects received one of the following three pieces of information
The text for the control group was as follows:

The text for the financial issue group was as follows:

U.S. PIRG, the nonprofit and nonpartisan federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), advocates nationally on behalf of college students. In fact, U.S. PIRG is regarded as one of the most effective advocates for issues that matter to college students. One of its central issues is textbooks: in recent years the price of college textbooks and supplementary workbooks has skyrocketed, making them a huge financial burden. To address this issue, U.S. PIRG supports legislation that would increase the availability of low-cost textbooks and supplementary workbooks. To learn more after the experiment, you may visit their website at www.uspirg.org.

The text for the nonfinancial issue group was as follows:

U.S. PIRG, the nonprofit and nonpartisan federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), advocates nationally on behalf of college students. In fact, U.S. PIRG is regarded as one of the most effective advocates for issues that matter to college students. One of its central issues is textbooks: in recent years the amount of paper used in college textbooks and supplementary workbooks has skyrocketed, making them a huge environmental burden, even though most classes do not use the entire book. To address this issue, U.S. PIRG supports legislation that would increase the availability of digital open textbooks and supplementary workbooks so that students could just print out and carry what they need. To learn more after the experiment, you may visit their website at www.uspirg.org.

Next Page; Only Subjects in Education Experiment 1 Received the Following Text
Your decision-making task is to decide whether or not to make a financial contribution to U.S. PIRG. You must choose how many, if any, of the $1 bills you received for showing up to donate to U.S. PIRG. You may donate $0, $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, or $10.

All of the $1 bills that you do not donate will be yours to keep. If you decide to donate $0, then you will take home $10 from this experiment. If you decide to donate $3, then you will take home $7 from this experiment. If you decide to donate $10, then you will not take home any money from this experiment. In other words, you will leave the experiment with anywhere from $0 to $10 total. The decision is up to you and will be completely anonymous.

Yes, the money will actually be donated to U.S. PIRG and yes, U.S. PIRG is a real organization. Also note that the experimenter is not affiliated in any way with U.S. PIRG.

At this point, please decide how many, if any, of the ten $1 bills you would like to donate. Place that number of dollars in the envelope marked “Donate”. Then turn to the next page.

Next Page
At this time please place this questionnaire in the “Donate” envelope as well. Once you are done, place the “Donate” envelope in the box in the hallway.

This concludes Part I of the experiment.
[The majority of Part II was unrelated to the hypotheses tested in this paper, and therefore is not included here.]

Next Page; Only Subjects in Education Experiment 2 Received the Following Text
Your decision-making task is to decide whether to join U.S. PIRGs Email Action Network. This e-mail listserv provides updates from U.S. PIRG regarding issues that they are campaigning on at the moment. It also contains requests for volunteers for upcoming events. The decision to join is up to you and the experimenter will not observe your decision.

At the end of Part II of the experiment, everyone will be given access to a computer. Those who have decided to sign up for the listserv will be able to complete the actual sign-up at that point. The homepage on the computer will be U.S. PIRGs website and will contain all of the fields to fill in and complete the sign-up. Those who have decided not to sign up or who are already members of this listserv will be instructed to simply close the browser. In either case, to preserve anonymity between the experimenter and you, the experimenter will not observe your actions at the computer terminal.

Yes, U.S. PIRG is a real organization. Also note that the experimenter is not affiliated in any way with U.S. PIRG.

At this point please decide whether you would like to sign up by circling one of the following response options:

A) Yes, I would like to sign up

B) No, I would not like to sign up

C) I am already a member of this listserv

Please turn to the next page.

Next Page
At this time please place this questionnaire in the manila envelope, and then place the manila envelope in the box in the hallway.

This concludes Part I of the experiment. Please inform the experimenter that you are ready for Part II.

MATERIALS FOR HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENTS WITH ACSCAN

Thank you for participating.

New Screen; Only Subjects in Health Care Experiment 1 viewed this screen
For your participation in this study, you are receiving $15. [An image of 15 one dollar bills was centered on the screen to accompany this message.]

New Screen

The purpose of this study is to understand how people make decisions. In this study you will first receive some information about a real organization. Afterward, you will be asked a series of questions. This study is for scientific purposes only and is not affiliated with the organization you will read about.

New Screen; Subjects received one of the following three pieces of information

The text for the Control Group was as follows:

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization. It leads the fight against cancer in a variety of ways, such as supporting legislation that will expand access to mammograms and colon cancer screenings.

As you read this, cancer is affecting the lives of millions of Americans. More than 500,000 people die every year of cancer, and millions more are diagnosed with this life-threatening illness. It is critical that ACSCAN fights to ensure that legislators make cancer a national priority.

Many important decisions related to cancer are made in the halls of government around the country. ACSCAN ensures that when these decisions are made, the voices of Americans who care about cancer are heard.

The text for the Cost Group was as follows:

Right now, millions of Americans worry about how they will pay their bills. Every dollar matters more than ever. In these tough times, it’s natural to worry about whether you have enough money to cover an unexpected health care emergency. One such emergency that affects millions of Americans each year is cancer. Treating cancer—even for people with insurance—can lead to enormous expenses and large debt. You and your loved ones already have enough to worry about. You shouldn’t have to worry about this, too.

The text for the Access Group was as follows:

Right now, millions of Americans worry about getting ill. In these uncertain times, it’s natural to worry about what will happen to your day-to-day life in case of an unexpected health care emergency. One such emergency that affects millions of Americans each year is cancer, and one of its main symptoms is pain. Pain can affect all aspects of one’s life, leaving people unable to do things they love the most. You and your loved ones already have enough to worry about. You shouldn’t have to worry about this, too.

New Screen; Only subjects in Health Care Experiment 1 viewed this screen
Now we would like you to decide how much of the $15 that you received for participating in this study you would like to donate to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN). You will receive any amount that you decide to keep for yourself in the form of bonus points credited to your Knowledge Networks account.

You can choose to donate any amount from $0 to $15, in increments of $1, as shown in the table below (The table appeared in reverse order for half of the subjects):

if you donate this amount to ACSCAN…	You will be credited with…
$0	15,000 bonus points ($15)
$1	14,000 bonus points ($14)
$2	13,000 bonus points ($13)
$3	12,000 bonus points ($12)
$4	11,000 bonus points ($11)
$5	10,000 bonus points ($10)
$6	9,000 bonus points ($9)
$7	8,000 bonus points ($8)
$8	7,000 bonus points ($7)
$9	6,000 bonus points ($6)
$10	5,000 bonus points ($5)
$11	4,000 bonus points ($4)
$12	3,000 bonus points ($3)
$13	2,000 bonus points ($2)
$14	1,000 bonus points ($1)
$15	0 bonus points ($0)

How much would you like to donate?
Type in the amount here:

Please be assured that the money will actually be donated to ACSCAN and that you will receive bonus points credited to your Knowledge Networks account for the amount you choose not to donate.

New Screen; Only subjects in Health Care Experiment 2 viewed the following information
Now we want you to decide whether you would like to sign up for an e-mail listserv to hear about volunteer opportunities with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN).

If you sign up, you will receive a monthly newsletter and periodic emails alerting you to urgent cancer-related issues. These will ask you to contact your legislator on such issues via email or telephone. The time commitment is minimal. Even if you have only a few minutes a day or an hour per week, your voice can be heard!

Please indicate whether you would like to sign up by marking one of the response options below. If you choose “Yes, I would like to sign up,” then at the end of the study you will be given access to the signup page on ACSCAN’s website. In this case, you will not be able to complete the experiment study without filling in your contact information on that page.

Yes, I would like to sign up
No, I would not like to sign up
I am already a member of this e-mail list

New Screen; Following their decisions subjects answered a short demographic questionnaire. In the middle of that questionnaire appeared the following question:
Do you have any kind of health insurance?

Yes
No

New Screen; At the end of the questionnaire was the following:
I am confident that I will receive bonus points credited to my Knowledge Networks account for the money I did not donate to ACSCAN.

Agree strongly
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Disagree strongly

MATERIALS FOR HEALTH CARE FIELD EXPERIMENT WITH IHA

Here is the text for the control group:

Dear Community Member,

Did you know that over one quarter of Tompkins County residents have no health insurance and that many thousands more have insurance that imposes large costs even for routine treatments? That’s why, in 2006, the Ithaca Health Alliance opened the Ithaca Free Clinic. The Clinic provides comprehensive services delivered by a dedicated volunteer staff that includes physicians, registered nurses, registered dieticians, acupuncturists, chiropractors, herbalists, massage therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. It also specializes in women’s services to ensure that those who can’t afford the charges of other nonprofit agencies can nonetheless get the diagnostic and preventive care they need.

Since opening our doors, the Clinic has tripled the number of patient visits, from 861 to 2,634 in 2010. We have provided primary care to over 1,000 people living in Tompkins County who would otherwise have had no or limited access to it.

In addition to the Clinic, the Alliance organizes free educational programs that inform people about topics related to health conditions, such as depression and seasonal allergies. Other programs have focused on changes in laws affecting public health and health care, such as the public health effects of gas drilling.

The Alliance depends upon contributions from individuals who support its work. In 2011, Tompkins County residents donated over $80,000 to the Alliance as well as clinical, administrative, and committee volunteer labor that accounted for 80% of the Alliance’s work. Yet the demand for our services continues to increase.

That is why we are writing to you. We are reaching out for new donors and volunteers just like you.

Please consider supporting the Ithaca Health Alliance. Your donation will directly safeguard the health of more than 1,000 area residents. If you would like to make a donation, please complete the enclosed envelope. All donations will be acknowledged with a letter of receipt as a record of your tax-deductible gift. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit www.ithacahealth.org/ally to sign up.

With gratitude, [Names of organization leaders omitted here.]

Here is the text for the cost group:

Dear Community Member,

Health care costs are growing. Even people with insurance are finding that it covers less and less and that routine procedures are costing more and more. That’s why health care costs are one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy, even among those with insurance. In these tough times, every dollar matters more than ever, and it’s natural to think about whether you have enough money to cover routine costs, let alone emergencies.

You’re not alone. Over one quarter of Tompkins County residents have no health insurance, and many thousands more have insurance that imposes large costs even for routine treatments. That’s why, in 2006, the Ithaca Health Alliance opened the Ithaca Free Clinic. The Clinic provides comprehensive services delivered by a dedicated volunteer staff that includes physicians, registered nurses, registered dieticians, acupuncturists, chiropractors, herbalists, massage therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. It also specializes in women’s services to ensure that those who can’t afford the charges of other nonprofit agencies can nonetheless get the diagnostic and preventive care they need.

That is why we are writing to you. We are reaching out for new donors and volunteers just like you.

Growing health care costs affect each of us in the community. Please consider supporting the Ithaca Health Alliance. Your donation will directly safeguard the health of more than 1,000 area residents. If you would like to make a donation, please complete the enclosed envelope. All donations will be acknowledged with a letter of receipt as a record of your tax-deductible gift. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit www.ithacahealth.org/ally to sign up.

With gratitude, [Names of organization leaders omitted here.]