Who Do We Help? How Schwartz Values Influence Responses to Different Frames in Charity Appeals

Abstract

We investigate the effect of two framing techniques in a charity appeal, singularity of the advertising model(s) (single model vs. group) and model group belonging (in-group vs. out-group). Importantly, we examine how Schwartz values (i.e., conservation, self-enhancement, openness-to-change, hedonism, universalism, and benevolence) moderate the differences in attitude toward the charity, interest in additional information about the charity and intention to donate money to the charity). Based on an experiment (n = 172), in-group bias is enhanced by self-enhancement. The preference for individuals over groups in charity appeals is enhanced by self-enhancement and hedonism, and reduced by conservation and benevolence.