Both selfishness and selflessness start with the self: How wealth shapes responses to charitable appeals

Enculturating the Science of International Development: Beyond the WEIRD Independent Paradigm

Initiatives in international development and behavioral science rely predominantly on the independent models of the self and agency that are prevalent in individualist Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) cultural contexts. Programs that are guided by these independent models, explicitly or implicitly, as the default way of being and that neglect interdependent models can reduce the potential of development initiatives to advance poverty reduction and well-being in two ways. First, programs based solely on independent models of agency—centered on personal goals and values; self-advancement and self-expression; and autonomy—can limit the scope and effectiveness of the development science toolkit. Second, programs that are not responsive to interdependent ways of being—centered on relational goals and values; responsiveness to social norms, roles, and obligations; and social coordination—that are common in many Global South sociocultural contexts can be met with resistance or backlash. We propose that taking account of interdependent psychosocial tendencies is a promising way to diversify the behavioral science toolkit and to build a more comprehensive science of human behavior. Furthermore, culturally responsive program designs have the potential both to promote decolonized, inclusive approaches that preserve rather than override local ways of being and to enable diverse trajectories of societal development to flourish. We integrate experimental and descriptive research from psychology, economics, education, and global health to suggest how models of interdependent agency can be productively integrated into development program designs to advance quality of life in locally resonant ways.

Let's Give Together: Can Collaborative Giving Boost Generosity?

A growing number of people donate to charity together with others, such as a spouse, friend, or stranger. Does giving to charity collectively with another person-called collaborative giving-promote generosity? Existing data offer unsatisfactory insight; most studies are correlational, present mixed findings, or examine other concepts. Yet, theory suggests that collaborative giving may increase generosity because giving with others could be intrinsically enjoyable. We conducted two well-powered, pre-registered experiments to test whether collaborative giving boosts generosity. In Experiment 1 (N = 202; 101 dyads) and Experiment 2 (N = 310; 155 dyads), pairs of unacquainted undergraduates earned money and were randomly assigned to donate collaboratively (Experiments 1-2), individually in each other's presence (Experiments 1-2), or privately (Experiment 2). Across studies, we observed no condition differences on generosity. However, collaborative (vs. individual) giving predicted greater intrinsic enjoyment, which, in turn, predicted larger donations, suggesting a promising potential mechanism for future research and practice.

The salience of choice reduces social responsibility: evidence from lab experiments and compliance with COVID-19 stay-at-home orders

The tension between self-interest and the collective good is fundamental to human societies. We propose that the idea of choice is a key lever that nudges people to act in a self-interested manner because it leads people to value independence. Making one inconsequential choice at the beginning of an incentive-compatible lab experiment made people 41% more likely to choose a monetary allocation that maximized their own payoff while minimizing the total payoff of their group (Studies 1A and 1B). The next two studies featured seven-participant experimental markets in which sellers decided whether to produce conventional goods (which imposed costs on others) or socially responsible goods (which did not impose any costs), and buyers decided which goods to purchase. In markets in which members made a single inconsequential choice, the market share of the socially responsible good was reduced by a factor of 34% (Studies 2A and 2B). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, framing socially responsible actions as choices increased people's willingness to hoard and violate social distancing rules (Study 3). Highlighting the idea of choice reduced people's desire to engage in corporate social responsibility, and this effect was mediated by an increased emphasis on independence (Study 4). Finally, using cell phone location data, an archival study found that in states in which people were more likely to search for choice-related words on the internet in 2019, residents were more likely to leave their homes following a stay-at-home order, after controlling for state-level income, education, diversity, population density, and political orientation (Study 5).

COVID-19 and pro-sociality: How do donors respond to local pandemic severity, increased salience, and media coverage?

Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected pro-sociality among individuals? After the onset of the pandemic, many charitable appeals were updated to include a reference to COVID-19. Did donors increase their giving in response to such changes? In order to answer these questions, we conducted a real-donation online experiment with more than 4200 participants from 149 local areas in England and over 21 weeks. First, we varied the fundraising appeal to either include or exclude a reference to COVID-19. We found that including the reference to COVID-19 in the appeal increased donations. Second, in a natural experiment-like approach, we studied how the relative local severity of the pandemic and media coverage about local COVID-19 severity affected giving in our experiment. We found that both higher local severity and more related articles increased giving of participants in the respective areas. This holds for different specifications, including specifications with location fixed effects, time fixed effects, a broad set of individual characteristics to account for a potentially changing composition of the sample over time and to account for health- and work-related experiences with and expectations regarding the pandemic. While negative experiences with COVID-19 correlate negatively with giving, both approaches led us to conclude that the pure effect of increased salience of the pandemic on pro-sociality is positive. Despite the shift in public attention toward the domestic fight against the pandemic and away from developing countries' challenges, we found that preferences did not shift toward giving more to a national project and less to developing countries.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10683-022-09753-y.

The Link Between Income, Income Inequality, and Prosocial Behavior Around the World

Abstract. The questions of whether high-income individuals are more prosocial than low-income individuals and whether income inequality moderates this effect have received extensive attention. We shed new light on this topic by analyzing a large-scale dataset with a representative sample of respondents from 133 countries ( N = 948,837). We conduct a multiverse analysis with 30 statistical models: 15 models predicting the likelihood of donating money to charity and 15 models predicting the likelihood of volunteering time to an organization. Across all model specifications, high-income individuals were more likely to donate their money and volunteer their time than low-income individuals. High-income individuals were more likely to engage in prosocial behavior under high (vs. low) income inequality. Avenues for future research and potential mechanisms are discussed.

“Make it Happen!”

Abstract. Verbs may be attributed to higher agency than other grammatical categories. In Study 1, we confirmed this hypothesis with archival datasets comprising verbs ( N = 950) and adjectives ( N = 2115). We then investigated whether verbs (vs. adjectives) increase message effectiveness. In three experiments presenting potential NGOs (Studies 2 and 3) or corporate campaigns (Study 4) in verb or adjective form, we demonstrate the hypothesized relationship. Across studies, (overall N = 721) grammatical agency consistently increased message effectiveness. Semantic agency varied across contexts by either increasing (Study 2), not affecting (Study 3), or decreasing (Study 4) the effectiveness of the message. Overall, experiments provide insights in to the meta-semantic effects of verbs – demonstrating how grammar may influence communication outcomes.

Field experimental evidence shows that self-interest attracts more sunlight

This study examines how messaging approaches in a prosocial intervention can influence not only the effectiveness of the intervention but also, contagion afterward. Our investigation focuses on leveraging two motivations for solar adoption: self-interest and prosocial. Using data from a natural field experiment in 29 municipalities containing 684,000 people, we find that self-interest messaging is twice as effective in inducing solar adoption both during and after the intervention. Adoptions under self-interest messaging have 10% higher net present value, but prosocial messaging increases the likelihood that adopters recommend solar to their friends and neighbors. Income moderates the effectiveness of self-interest messaging, performing much better in high-income communities than low- and moderate-income communities. There was no significant difference across income groups for prosocial messaging. These results provide guidance to policy makers aiming to encourage prosocial behavior across all income groups.

Go Pro Bono

Abstract. Crowdfunding enables fundraising of various ventures by collecting money from several donors. We argue that the inclusion of prosocial language contributes to success in this new domain of resource acquisition. In Study 1, we analyzed 164,056 projects from the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and found that the higher the percentage of prosocial words employed in a project’s description, the larger the number of investors and the greater the chances of reaching a funding goal. In Study 2 (N = 234), an experimental study, we documented that the use of prosocial words increases the support people thought they would give to a project. Our results indicate that people want to invest their financial resources in ventures that contribute to prosocial goals.

Social power and social class: conceptualization, consequences, and current challenges

This article offers a primer on social power and social class with respect to their theoretical importance, conceptual distinction, and empirical relationship. We introduce and define the constructs of social power, social class, and one's psychological sense of power. We next explore the complex relationship between social power and social class. Because social class can produce a sense of power within an individual, studies on social power can inform theory and research on social class. We conclude with a discussion of the current challenges and future opportunities for the study of social power and social class.

Social class and prosocial behavior: current evidence, caveats, and questions

This review synthesizes research on social class and prosocial behavior. Individuals of lower social class display increased attention to others and greater sensitivity to others' welfare compared to individuals of higher social class, who exhibit more self-oriented patterns of social cognition. As a result, lower-class individuals are more likely to engage in other-beneficial prosocial behavior, whereas higher-class individuals are more prone to engage in self-beneficial behavior. Although the extant evidence indicates that higher social class standing may tend to undermine prosocial impulses, we propose that the effects of social class on prosocial behavior may also depend on three crucial factors: motivation, identity, and inequality. We discuss how and why these factors may moderate class differences in prosociality and offer promising lines of inquiry for future research.