AbstractFundraising organizations face difficult decisions regarding how to construct solicitations for donations. While these aid requests often include multiple salient features, their interactive effect on donation behavior and the psychological mechanisms that underlie their combined influence remain unclear. In six studies utilizing online and laboratory samples, as well as hypothetical and real incentives, we examine whether and how request framing moderates the impact of positive and negative images on charitable giving. Across all studies and in a single-paper meta-analysis, the influence of affective images on giving was moderated by the valence of request framing, such that affectively matched features most effectively elicited donations. Further, donors’ experienced positive affect could account for this matching effect – even in cases of matched negative features. These findings suggest that organizations can increase the effectiveness of aid requests by focusing on the affective match of request features. This work integrates previously discrepant findings on the impact of affect on donations and holds both conceptual implications for how affect can influence giving and practical implications for organizations seeking to design optimally effective requests for aid.
The impact of positive affect on health cognitions and behaviours: a meta-analysis of the experimental evidence
