How priming affected donation amounts by 96%
Abstract
A disaster affecting millions of people is distressing, but it rarely moves us as much as when we learn of a tragedy that befalls one person. Researchers recognized the difference in how we react to victims and give to charity, noting that donations would be more effective if they were better distributed, rather than disproportionately steered towards identifiable victims.
Teaching, framing, and priming Interventions did moderate generosity towards identifiable victims, but the adjustment did not significantly increase donations to statistical victims. The biggest impacts were seen with priming feeling over analytical modes of thought processing. Donors were 96% more generous towards identifiable victims when given an affect prime. Conversely, analytical priming only boosted donations to statistical victims by 5%.
Sources
Small, D. A., Loewenstein, G., & Slovic, P. (2007). Sympathy and callousness: The impact of deliberative thought on donations to identifiable and statistical victims. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102(2), 143-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.01.005
