Committing Altruism under the Cloak of Self-Interest: The Exchange Fiction

Author： Holmes J.G. Miller D.T. Lerner M.J.

ISSN： 0022-1031

Source： Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol.38, Iss.2, 2002-03, pp. : 144-151

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Abstract

Two field studies tested the hypothesis that people's willingness to help a charitable organization is greater when the act is presented as an economic transaction than when it is presented as an act of charity. In Study 1 participants donated more money to a charity when offered a product in exchange for their donation, even though the product itself held little appeal for them. Participants' donation rates were also more responsive to the level of need of the victim group when they were offered a product in exchange for their donation, consistent with the idea that the exchange provided psychological cover for their act of compassion. In Study 2 participants' willingness to purchase a product from a charitable organization increased the more of a bargain the price was purported to be, but only when the victims' need was high. The source of people's desire to not reveal or even to recognize the full extent of their prosocial motivation is discussed, as are the implications of the exchange fiction for charity appeals. ©2001 Elsevier Science (USA).