Altruistic Personality and Contingency Factors Influence Charitable Donations Decision-making: An Experiment

Abstract

Abstract: Charitable donation is a typical prosocial behavior of human′s altruism. This study′s purposes are to examine the impact of altruistic personality and contingency factors on individual charitable donation decision-making. The results showed the main effects of altruistic personality, charitable organization effectiveness and peer effect to the monetary donation amount were all significant. As the ″personality″ hypothesis predicted, compared with low altruistic personality individuals, high altruistic personality individuals contributed more money. As the ″organization effectiveness″ hypothesis predicted, compared with individuals in ″scandals″ condition, individuals in ″achievements″ condition contributed more. As the ″peer effect″ hypothesis predicted, compared with individuals in ″passive″ condition, individuals in ″positive″ condition contributed more. Simple effect analysis indicated charitable organization effectiveness was more important to the high altruistic personality individuals′ attitude and contribution of donation, and peer effect was more important to the low altruistic personality individuals′ attitude and contribution. The current results suggest that altruistic personality do have effects on charitable donation decision-making, and contingency factors such as charitable organization effectiveness and peer effect also have dramatic effects on donation decision-making, and contingency factors have distinct effects on differential altruistic personality donators′ decision-making. These results have some practical implications. There are the needs for research on the mechanisms driving such effects.

Key words: donation, altruism, personality, contingency, social compare

摘要： 采用三因素被试间实验具体考察了利他人格、慈善组织有效性和同伴效应对于个体捐赠决策的影响,结果发现存在显著的主效应和交互作用。利他人格与捐赠态度和捐赠水平之间存在显著的正向关系;情境因素慈善组织有效性和同伴效应与捐赠态度和捐赠水平之间也存在显著的正向关系;高利他者的捐赠决策对慈善组织有效性更加敏感,而低利他者对同伴效应更加敏感。

关键词: 捐赠, 利他, 人格, 情境, 社会比较

CLC Number:

B849

Xie Ye. Altruistic Personality and Contingency Factors Influence Charitable Donations Decision-making: An Experiment[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2013, 11(4): 535-540.

谢晔. 利他人格和情境因素对于个体捐赠决策的影响[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2013, 11(4): 535-540.

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