Charitable Giving, Emotions, and the Default Effect

CentER Discussion Paper No. 2015-043

23 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2015

See all articles by Lenka Fiala

Lenka Fiala

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER); Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC)

Charles N. Noussair

Tilburg University

Date Written: August 24, 2015

Abstract

We report an experiment to study the effect of defaults on charitable giving. In three different treatments, participants face varying default levels of donation. In three other treatments that are paired with the first three, they receive the same defaults, but are informed that defaults are thought to have an effect on their donation decisions. The emotional state of all individuals is monitored throughout the sessions using Facereading software, and some participants are required to report their emotional state after the donation decision. We find that the default level has no effect on donations, and informing individuals of the possible impact of defaults also has no effect. The decision to donate is independent of prior emotional state, unless specific subgroups of participants are considered. Donors experience a negative change in the valence of their emotional state subsequent to donating, when valence is measured with Facereading software. This contrasts with the self-report data, in which donating correlates with a more positive reported subsequent emotional state.

Keywords: charitable giving, emotion, default, facereading

JEL Classification: C91

Suggested Citation

Fiala, Lenka and Noussair, Charles N., Charitable Giving, Emotions, and the Default Effect (August 24, 2015). CentER Discussion Paper No. 2015-043, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2648844 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2648844

Lenka Fiala (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Center for Economic Research (CentER) ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) ( email )

Warandelaan 2
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Charles N. Noussair

Tilburg University ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

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