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Cheapened altruism: Discounting personally affected prosocial actors

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  • Lin-Healy, Fern
  • Small, Deborah A.

Abstract

Are charitable donors always perceived as charitable? Three studies suggest that although having a personal connection to a cause motivates much charitable giving, donors who have been personally affected by the target cause are given less “credit” for their donations, i.e., are perceived as less intrinsically charitable. These donors are perceived as having selfish motivations even when they have nothing economic or social to gain from the donation. More specifically, personally-affected donors are perceived as driven by emotional selfishness, or a desire to improve their own hedonic state rather a desire to improve the welfare of others, which lessens the charitable credit that they receive. In addition, although donors who have been personally affected by the target cause are seen as less charitable, they are perceived more favorably in other ways (e.g., more loyal).

Suggested Citation

  • Lin-Healy, Fern & Small, Deborah A., 2012. "Cheapened altruism: Discounting personally affected prosocial actors," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 269-274.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:117:y:2012:i:2:p:269-274
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.11.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Ahmet Ekici & Aminreza Shiri, 2018. "The message in the box: how exposure to money affects charitable giving," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 137-149, June.
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