Give your money and lose your friend : the roles of social exclusion and money anthropomorphism in charitable giving

• Main Author: Kho, Mandon Jin Cheng
• Other Authors: Lee Kai Chung, Albert
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/77185
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Social exclusion can trigger compensatory behaviors when social needs are threatened. Compensatory behaviors may include prosocial behaviors, such as charitable giving, as a way to reconnect socially with other people. Other forms of compensatory behaviors may involve the creation of social connections with money by imbuing it with human characteristics, a process known as anthropomorphism. But what happens if charitable giving cross paths with money anthropomorphism in the wake of social exclusion? The present study examines the roles of social exclusion and money anthropomorphism in charitable giving. In this study, we made four hypotheses. Firstly, we predicted that when money is not anthropomorphized, our participants would be more likely to donate money if they have been primed with social exclusion than if they have not been. Secondly, we predicted that when participants are primed with social exclusion, they would be less likely to donate money when they are induced to anthropomorphize money than if they have not been. Thirdly, we predicted that when participants are not primed with social exclusion, they would be more likely to donate money when they are induced to anthropomorphize money than if they have not been. Lastly, we predicted that socially excluded people would be less likely to donate money compared to socially included people, but only when money is anthropomorphized. The results from the experiment supported the third and fourth hypotheses. The results also reveal potential implications for charitable giving. The limitations of the study and future research directions are also discussed.