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Abstract
This study tested whether congruency between approach/avoidance dispositional motivation and message framing (gain, loss) affects receptivity to appeals for charitable donations. Participants read gain-framed and loss-framed messages regarding funding needs and completed the BIS vs. BAS scale assessing dispositional motivation. Approach-oriented people were more persuaded by gain-framed messages, and avoidance-oriented people were more persuaded by loss-framed messages. The results thus extend the congruency effect beyond self-relevant messages to include other-oriented messages as well. These findings suggest that real-world charitable appeals will be more effective to the degree that they are tailored to match the motivational dynamics of the target audience.
Notes
1 Regression analyses using the continuous measure of BIS and BAS replicated these findings such that more BAS-oriented people found gain-framed messages more effective and were willing to donate more in response to gain-framed messages relative to loss-framed messages, with the reverse being true of more BIS-oriented people.