Not All Empathy Is Equal: How Dispositional Empathy Affects Charitable Giving

Abstract

Motivations for prosocial behavior have been explored in diverse ways. Empirical research suggests that empathy is an important motive for prosocial behavior. Building upon previous studies, in this article the authors hypothesize that charitable giving is distinctively affected by different components of dispositional empathy, including empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress. Using the 2008–2009 wave of American National Election Studies data set, this study examines the impact of these three components of dispositional empathy on probability and amount of giving to various charitable causes. The results support the authors’ hypotheses that the three components of dispositional empathy are associated with charitable giving in different ways. In particular, empathic concern consistently stimulates the likelihood and amount of giving. The effects of perspective taking and personal distress are mixed. The results offer several direct implications for fundraisers and nonprofit organizations in crafting effective fundraising appeals.

KEYWORDS:

• motivation for giving
• dispositional empathy
• empathic concern
• perspective taking
• personal distress
• prosocial behavior
• charitable giving

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful suggestions and comments on earlier versions of the manuscript from Professors René Bekkers, Richard Steinberg, Mark Wilhelm, Dr. Amy N. Thayer, and one anonymous reviewer.

Notes

1. A total of 85 outliers as measured by extremely high or low amounts of charitable donations are excluded from our analysis. The average amount of these donations is $16,095 (median = $15,935). These outliers are generated based on three standard deviations of average total giving.