Guilt appeals: The mediating effect of responsibility

This research was conducted to assess how guilt appeals operate in soliciting charitable donations. It was hypothesized that a sense of responsibility would enhance the effectiveness of charitable guilt appeals, thus leading to larger charitable donations. It was also hypothesized that the presence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology & marketing 2006-12, Vol.23 (12), p.1035-1054
Main Authors: Basil, Debra Z., Ridgway, Nancy M., Basil, Michael D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advertising campaigns
Charities
Donations
Hypothesis testing
Responsibilities
Studies
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Summary:This research was conducted to assess how guilt appeals operate in soliciting charitable donations. It was hypothesized that a sense of responsibility would enhance the effectiveness of charitable guilt appeals, thus leading to larger charitable donations. It was also hypothesized that the presence of others would make salient a prosocial norm, thus increasing a sense of responsibility to help. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to test these hypotheses. The effect of guilt on charitable‐donation intention and actual donations was mediated by a sense of responsibility. Additionally, the presence of others enhanced the sense of responsibility to behave prosocially. These findings have implications for the design of charitable‐donation campaigns. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0742-6046
1520-6793
DOI:10.1002/mar.20145