How Emotions Induce Charitable Giving: A Psychophysiological Study

Emotions play a pervasive role in determining advertising effectiveness. However, it is still a controversial question as to whether pleasant or unpleasant advertisements are more effective in attracting donations. We recorded self-reported valence and arousal, as well as physiological activity (skin conductance, heart rate, and facial electromyography), while 54 participants watched affective pictures of dogs and made decisions with regard to possible donations. More unpleasant pictures provoked larger donations. Corrugator EMG was the most closely related to donations. A change in heart rate and zygomaticus EMG also correlated with charitable giving, but to a lesser extent. Hence, corrugator EMG could be useful in studies of emotional influence on prosocial behavior. With regard to stimulus characteristics, homeless and sick dogs provoked a greater affective response and larger donations.