When Social Recognition Inhibits Prosocial Behaviors: The Case of Charitable Giving: An Abstract

Abstract

Although charities are making an increasing use of the social dimension of generosity by publicly thanking donors, studies on the matter have so far led to mixed results (Bénabou and Tirole 2006). A key aspect when considering social recognition is that people do not equally seek for approval (Gneezy et al. 2011). The impact of social recognition would depend on people’s need for social approval (NSA), and that would explain the mixed results when dealing with public donations (Alpizar et al. 2008). Though it appears logical to assume that social rewards positively impact people with high NSA, authors have often assumed that the effect would be at worst neutral among people with lower NSA. Answering the call by Gneezy et al. (2011), we suggest otherwise and propose that publicly thanking donors might reduce generosity depending on people’s willingness to get social approval. Participants answered an online survey on an unrelated topic. People were then financially rewarded and given the opportunity to keep or to donate the reward to a charity. Questionnaires were administrated on Facebook pages to publicly prime respondents. Study 1 (n = 318; Mage = 34.6; st. dev = 9.72) assessed the moderating effect of NSA and consisted in three conditions for the reward (no recognition, private, public). The study confirmed the moderating effect of NSA. More specifically, the presence of a public recognition reduces generosity among low NSA people. Study 2 (n = 306; Mage = 30.75; st. dev = 8.74) assessed the impact of an optional public recognition and consisted in three conditions (no recognition, imposed, optional). Results showed that when the recognition is optional, the negative effect among low NSA people disappears. An optional recognition thus increases generosity, regardless of the NSA level. Study 3 (n = 413; Mage = 33.65; st. dev = 8.49) consisted in a 2 × 2 between-subjects design (imposed vs. optional, unspecified vs. specified). In specified conditions, public messages made it clear that respondents did not ask for the message. Results showed no effect among low NSA people, but a positive effect among high NSA people, even when the message is optional. Through the investigation of the effect of NSA, this research clarifies the debate about the role of social reward. We contribute to both prosocial and charitable giving literatures, addressing the call by Gneezy et al. (2011) to clarify the conditions under which extrinsic incentives work.