Communicating with All Your Heart: Flyer with a Cardioid Shape and Receptivity to a Request for Humanitarian Aid

Abstract

Studies have shown that physical cues, presented in the immediate environment of an individual, influence his/her behavior later. Recent studies have found that exposing individuals to the concept of love influenced their subsequent helping behavior. This effect was studied in a field context using a physical cue associated with love. Customers entering a store received a flyer that informed them that a food collection was being organized for needy people. Depending on the condition, the flyer had a classical rectangular or cardioid shape. Results found an increase of nearly 50% in donors when using the cardioid flyer.

Keywords:

• Altruism
• Communication Support
• Health Communication

Notes

^a Mean and SD in brackets.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicolas Guéguen

Nicolas Guéguen is a Professor of Social Psychology.

Céline Jacob

Céline Jacob is an Associate Professor of Marketing in the Business Department at Université de Bretagne-Sud.