Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior



Feeling Good about Giving 13

samples, offering preliminary evidence that the reciprocal links between giving and happiness
may be a human universal.

Will Increasing Awareness of the Benefits of Giving Lead to More, or Less, Giving?

One implication of the research reviewed above is quite clear: If giving makes people
happy, and happy people give more, then one means of increasing charitable donations is simply
to inform people of this loop, making a rational appeal that self-interested giving can lead to
higher well-being. Indeed, Dunn et al. (2008) showed that people erroneously believe that
spending money on themselves makes them happier than spending money on others, suggesting
that there is ample room for people to be “educated” to the contrary. Recently, many
organizations appear to be engaged in efforts to link charitable donations with feel-good
campaigns, as opposed to the classic campaigns involving images of in-need individuals
designed to elicit sadness and guilt, as the quote with which we opened from Bono suggests
“(RED) is about doing what you enjoy and doing good at the same time.” And (RED) is far from
alone in this messaging, as slogans from many of the largest charitable organizations reflect
these feel-good impulses: the American Red Cross’s tells prospective blood donors that “the
need is constant. The gratification is instant,” CARE asks donors to “Help us empower women
around the world” with the slogan “I am powerful” applying to both donors and recipients, and
Susan G. Komen for the Cure asks each donor, “Are you inspired to save a life?” Enjoyment,
instant gratification, empowerment, inspiration - all of these sentiments offer powerful
emotional incentives for people to donate.

At the same time, however, any social scientist knows the possible costs of tampering
with behaviors that arise from intrinsic motivations, as ironic effects often stem from



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