Prosocial responses to global crises: Key influences of religiosity and perceived control

Abstract

Through three studies, we examine how religiosity explains why some consumers in the United States are more resistant toward engaging in prosocial responses than others in response to global crises (specifically, a pandemic) and what can be done to change this. Specifically, Study 1 shows that consumers with higher levels of religiosity exhibit lower global crisis concern, because they feel less of a sense of personal control over the crisis, which leads to reduced prosocial responses. Study 2 generally replicates these effects by priming religiosity and showing that these religiously primed consumers have a lower perceived sense of control and view prosocial responses as not as beneficial, thereby reducing participation likelihood. Study 3 then shows that marketing messages can be used to improve higher religiosity consumers' perceived sense of control over a global crisis, leading to more positive prosocial responses and retailer attitudes.