The Basic Idea
Imagine that you’re checking out your items at a shopping store, when the cashier asks if you would like to make a donation to a particular charity. Would you agree to make a donation? If so, would you be doing it because you genuinely want to, because you’ll feel better about yourself if you do, or because you feel like you should?
Warm glow giving is a behavioral economic theory that considers the personal gains - such as emotional rewards - that giving to others evokes.1 According to the theory, “warm glow” is the satisfaction people experience from “doing their part.” However, at the core of warm glow is the selfish pleasure that we feel as a result of our behavior. People’s motivation for their giving behaviors can either be impurely altruistic - motivated by the prospect of awards such as praise and respect - or purely altruistic - motivated by a genuine joy of giving.
It appears to be a matter of fact, that the circumstance of utility, in all subjects, is a source of praise and approbation … It is inseparable from all the other social virtues, humanity, generosity, charity, affability, levity, mercy and moderation.
– David Hume, philosopher and author of An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
