Engaging charitable giving

The motivational force of narrative versus philosophical argument

Bibliographic Data

ID21591706
AuthorsEric Schwitzgebel (0000-0003-4908-7074, Department of Philosophy University of California, Riverside, USA, corresponding author), Christopher McVey (Department of Philosophy University of California, Riverside, USA), Joshua May (0000-0001-8604-479X, University of Alabama)
Year2024
Volume37
Issue5
Pages1240-1275
Publication date2024-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-5089 • E-ISSN: 1465-394X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09515089.2022.2088340
OpenAlexW4285086625
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited29

Are philosophical arguments as effective as narratives in influencing charitable giving and attitudes toward it? In four experiments, we exposed online research participants to either philosophical arguments in favor of charitable giving, a narrative about a child whose life was improved by charitable donations, both the narrative and the argument, or a control text (a passage from a middle school physics text or a description of charitable organizations). Participants then expressed their attitudes toward charitable giving and were either asked how much they would hypothetically donate if given $10 (Experiment 1) or told they had a 10% chance of winning $10 and given the opportunity to donate from their potential winnings (Experiments 2–4). Across the four experiments, participants in all of the narrative conditions and in some of the argument conditions tended to express more positive attitudes toward charitable giving and donated about $1 more on average than did participants in the control conditions. These effects appear to have been mediated by the “narrative transportation” scale, which suggests that appeals to donate can be effective if they engage participants’ emotions, imagery, and interest

Economics · Epistemology · Narrative · Cultural Differences and Values · Media Influence and Health · Philosophy · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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