Emphasizing society's expectations enhances charitable giving in NGO advertisements
Toshiko Tanaka1, Tsuyoshi Nihonsugi1,2, Masahiko Haruno1,3
1Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
PNAS Nexus
|July 22, 2026
Summary
Subtle cues can encourage charitable giving. Emphasizing "society's expectation" in donation advertisements is most effective for increasing donations and engagement, according to a study on WaterAid Japan.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Psychology
- Marketing Science
Background:
- Prosocial behavior is influenced by various factors, but their effectiveness in donation advertisements remains under-explored.
- Charitable giving is often triggered by subtle cues rather than solely altruistic motives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the efficacy of different messaging strategies in donation advertisements.
- To identify the most effective psychological cue for soliciting donations without negative side effects.
Main Methods:
- An online nudge experiment with 6,232 participants was conducted.
- Real-world Yahoo Ads tested messages emphasizing "society's expectation," "inequity aversion," "sense of control," and "warm glow."
Main Results:
- The "society's expectation" message significantly outperformed other framings.
- This approach led to the highest number of impressions and clicks to the donation page.
- No adverse psychological effects were observed with the "society's expectation" message.
Conclusions:
- Highlighting societal expectations is a powerful and psychologically safe strategy for enhancing charitable donations.
- This finding has significant implications for designing effective fundraising campaigns.
- The study demonstrates the impact of social cues on real-world prosocial decision-making.
Related Concept Videos
01:55Egoism and Altruism
Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
00:52Social Proof
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
01:20Conformity
Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group.
01:26Social Exchange Theory
As formulated by John Thibaut and Harold Kelley, Social Exchange Theory explains human relationships as economic-like exchanges that maximize rewards and minimize costs. This theory suggests that individuals engage in relationships to gain benefits and reduce burdens, similar to economic transactions. It has been widely applied to various types of relationships, including romantic, professional, and social interactions.Rewards and Costs in RelationshipsRelationship rewards include emotional...
02:06Social Exchange Theory
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
01:03Altruism
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.