Avoiding the ask
Subtitle: a field experiment on altruism, empathy, and charitable giving
By: James Andreoni, Justin M. Rao, Hannah Trachtman
Contributors: Rao, Justin M.; Trachtman, Hannah; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 17648; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 17648.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "What triggers giving? We explore this in a randomized natural field experiment during the Salvation Army's annual campaign.  Solicitors were at one or both of two main entrances to a supermarket, making the solicitation either easy or difficult to avoid.  Additionally, solicitors were either silent, or asked "please give" to passersby.  We observed over 17,000 passings over four days, and found dramatic avoidance of the solicitors, but only during a direct ask.  Furthermore, asking increased donations 75%.  Across all conditions, seeking the solicitor was exceedingly rare.  The results do not support static views of altruism, such as inequity aversion, and instead highlight the importance of social cues and psychological features of the giver-receiver interaction.  We argue that avoidance could evidence a lack of altruism or self-control strategy to deal with empathic reflexes to give"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 2/14/2012.

Includes bibliographical references.

Also available in print.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.