1st Edition

The Science of Giving Experimental Approaches to the Study of Charity

Edited By Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Christopher Y. Olivola Copyright 2011
274 Pages 28 B/W Illustrations
by Psychology Press

274 Pages 28 B/W Illustrations
by Psychology Press

274 Pages 28 B/W Illustrations
by Psychology Press

Americans donate over 300 billion dollars a year to charity, but the psychological factors that govern whether to give, and how much to give, are still not well understood. Our understanding of charitable giving is based primarily upon the intuitions of fundraisers or correlational data which cannot establish causal relationships. By contrast, the chapters in this book study charity using... Read more

D.M. Oppenheimer, C.Y. Olivola, Introduction. Part 1. The Value of Giving. L. Anik, L.B. Aknin, M.I. Norton, E.W. Dunn, Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior. M.A. Strahilevitz, A Model of the Value of Giving to Others Compared to the Value of Having More for Oneself: Implications for Fundraisers Seeking to Maximize Donor Satisfaction. T. Meyvis, A. Bennett, D.M. Oppenheimer, Pre-Commitment to Charity. C.Y. Olivola, When Noble Means Hinder Noble Ends: The Benefits and Costs of a Preference for Martyrdom in Altruism. Part 2. The Impact of Social Factors. R. Croson, J. Shang, Social Influences in Giving: Field Experiments in Public Radio. R. Martin, J. Randal, How Social Norms, Price, and Scrutiny Influence Donation Behavior: Evidence from Four Natural Field Experiments. R.K. Ratner, M. Zhao, J.A. Clarke, The Norm of Self-Interest: Implications for Charitable Giving. T. Kogut, I. Ritov, The Identifiable Victim Effect: Causes and Boundary Conditions. Part 3. The Role of Emotions. D.A. Small, Sympathy Biases and Sympathy Appeals: Reducing Social Distance to Boost Charitable Contribution. S. Dickert, N. Sagara, P. Slovic, Affective Motivations to Help Others: A Two-Stage Model of Donation Decisions. M. Huber, L. Van Boven, A.P. McGraw, Donate Different: External and Internal Influences on Emotion-Based Donation Decisions. Part 4. Other Important Influences on Charitable Giving. W. Liu, The Benefits of Asking for Time. J. Baron, E. Szymanska, Heuristics and Biases in Charity. C. Cryder, G. Loewenstein, The Critical Link Between Tangibility and Generosity.

Biography

Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Christopher Y. Olivola

"The Science of Giving will be of interest to psychologists and economists interested in understanding how people decide whether, when, and how much to donate to charitable causes. It could also be a valuable supplement as a textbook for an upper level class in applications of social psychology. This book will also give all readers much to consider about their own charitable giving." - Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College, USA, in PsycCRITIQUES

"The Science of Giving is full of information that may help a fundraiser make better decisions about how to approach donors. ... The book is a fine reference for the science of charitable giving as it stands today. ... [The Science of Giving] will yield many insights that can be applied to any organization's fundraising approach." - Joanne Fritz, About.com Guide

"I picked up this book and could not put it down. It masterfully links several important contributions on the market for charity. The even-handed approach should appeal to a broad audience, including academics, policymakers, and the general reader interested in the economics and psychology of charity markets." - John A. List, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Chicago, USA