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Publications

Filter Results: (106) Arrow Down
Filter Results: (106) Arrow Down Arrow Up

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  • All HBS Web  (106)
    • News  (24)
    • Research  (73)
  • Faculty Publications  (44)

Show Results For

  • All HBS Web  (106)
    • News  (24)
    • Research  (73)
  • Faculty Publications  (44)
← Page 2 of 106 Results →
  • Article

The Multidimensional Effects of a Small Gift:: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

By: Ellen Garbarino, Robert Slonim and Carmen Wang
Using a large natural field experiment, we demonstrate that a small unconditional gift (pen) more than doubled both small (survey) and large (blood donation) responses. We find no evidence that the opportunity for a small response crowded out the larger response;... View Details
Keywords: Reciprocity; Gift Exchange; Blood Donation; Charitable Behavior; Field Experiment; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
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Garbarino, Ellen, Robert Slonim, and Carmen Wang. "The Multidimensional Effects of a Small Gift: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment." Economics Letters 120, no. 1 (July 2013): 83–61.
  • Article

Contingent Match Incentives Increase Donations

By: Lalin Anik, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely
We propose a new means by which non-profits can induce donors to give today and commit to giving in the future: contingent match incentives, in which matching is made contingent on the percentage of others who give (e.g., "if X% of others give, we will match all... View Details
Keywords: Matching Donations; Social Proof; Prosocial Behavior; Charitable Giving; Plausibility; Motivation and Incentives; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
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Anik, Lalin, Michael I. Norton, and Dan Ariely. "Contingent Match Incentives Increase Donations." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 51, no. 6 (December 2014): 790–801.
  • 2011
  • Working Paper

Memory Lane and Morality: How Childhood Memories Promote Prosocial Behavior

By: Francesca Gino and Sreedhari D. Desai
Four experiments demonstrated that recalling memories from one's own childhood lead people to experience feelings of moral purity and to behave prosocially. In Experiment 1, participants instructed to recall memories from their childhood were more likely to help the... View Details
Keywords: Judgments; Moral Sensibility; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Organizational Culture; Behavior; Emotions; Personal Characteristics; Welfare
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Gino, Francesca, and Sreedhari D. Desai. "Memory Lane and Morality: How Childhood Memories Promote Prosocial Behavior." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-079, February 2011.
  • 2022
  • Working Paper

Beliefs About Giving Across Contexts

By: Christine L. Exley, John-Henry Pezzuto and Marta Serra-Garcia
A rich literature investigates prosocial behavior by exploiting a variety of methods, the validity of which has been debated. While this literature has compared behavior inside and outside of the laboratory, an open question is how participants view prosocial behavior... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Values and Beliefs
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Exley, Christine L., John-Henry Pezzuto, and Marta Serra-Garcia. "Beliefs About Giving Across Contexts." Working Paper, September 2022.
  • 2013
  • Article

Does Social Connection Turn Good Deeds into Good Feelings? On the Value of Putting the 'Social' in Prosocial Spending

By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Gillian M. Sandstrom and Michael I. Norton
When are the emotional benefits of generous behavior most likely to emerge? In three studies, we demonstrate that the hedonic benefits of generous spending are most likely when spending promotes positive social connection. Study 1 shows that people feel happier after... View Details
Keywords: Money; Prosocial Spending; Social Connection; Well-being; Donations; Charitable Giving; Warm Glow; Social Relationships; Gift Giving; Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Society
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Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, Gillian M. Sandstrom, and Michael I. Norton. "Does Social Connection Turn Good Deeds into Good Feelings? On the Value of Putting the 'Social' in Prosocial Spending." International Journal of Happiness and Development 1, no. 2 (2013): 155–171.
  • March 2021
  • Article

Opting-in to Prosocial Incentives

By: Daniel Schwartz, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Alex Imas and Ayelet Gneezy
The design of effective incentive schemes that are both successful in motivating employees and keeping down costs is of critical importance. Research has demonstrated that prosocial incentives, where individuals’ effort benefits a charitable organization, can sometimes... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Prosocial Behavior; Behavioral Economics; Field Experiments; Recycling; Prosocial Motivation; Decision Making; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior
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Schwartz, Daniel, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Alex Imas, and Ayelet Gneezy. "Opting-in to Prosocial Incentives." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 163 (March 2021): 132–141.
  • Article

Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness

By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Cait Lamberton, Rebecca Walker Reczek and Michael I. Norton
Consumers are often surrounded by resources that once offered meaning or happiness but that have lost this subjective value over time—even as they retain their objective utility. We explore the potential for social recycling—disposing of used goods by allowing other... View Details
Keywords: Disposition; Well-being; Prosocial Behavior; Pro-environmental Behavior; Happiness; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Environmental Sustainability
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Donnelly, Grant Edward, Cait Lamberton, Rebecca Walker Reczek, and Michael I. Norton. "Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness." Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 1 (January 2017): 48–63.
  • Article

Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness

By: Melanie Rudd, Jennifer Aaker and Michael I. Norton
Across six field and laboratory experiments, participants assigned a more concretely-framed prosocial goal (e.g., making someone smile or increasing recycling) felt happier and reported creating greater personal happiness after performing a goal-directed act of... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Goal Framing; Affective Forecasting; Goals and Objectives; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
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Rudd, Melanie, Jennifer Aaker, and Michael I. Norton. "Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 54 (September 2014): 11–24.
  • 2013
  • Article

Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal

By: Lara B. Aknin, Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine Burns, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James and Michael I. Norton
This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Psychological Universal; Prosocial Behavior; Well-being; Happiness; Spending; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Canada; Uganda; South Africa; India
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Aknin, Lara B., Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine Burns, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James, and Michael I. Norton. "Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 104, no. 4 (April 2013): 635–652.
  • 28 Apr 2015
  • News

Beyond the Classroom

  • 30 Nov 2015
  • Research & Ideas

Donors Are Turned Off by Overhead Costs. Here’s What Charities Can Do

as a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego, where she conducted a series of laboratory and field experiments with UCSD’s Uri Gneezy, a professor of economics and strategy, and Ayelet Gneezy, an associate professor of View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
  • 2021
  • Article

Helping and Happiness: A Review and Guide for Public Policy

By: Lara B. Aknin and Ashley V. Whillans
Perhaps one of the most reaffirming findings to emerge over the past several decades is that humans not only engage in generous behavior, they also appear to experience pleasure from doing so. Yet not all acts of helping lead to greater happiness. Here, we review the... View Details
Keywords: Generosity; Helping; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Happiness; Policy
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Aknin, Lara B., and Ashley V. Whillans. "Helping and Happiness: A Review and Guide for Public Policy." Social Issues and Policy Review 15 (2021): 3–34.
  • 06 Oct 2015
  • First Look

October 6, 2015

Giving: The Role of Risk By: Exley, Christine L. Abstract—Decisions involving charitable giving often occur under the shadow of risk. A common finding is that potential donors give less when there is greater risk that their donation will... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • Research Summary

Overview

By: Julian J. Zlatev
First, Professor Zlatev studies how people make decisions that reinforce a sense that they are good or moral. He studies the psychology behind dual motive behaviors—actions that incorporate self-interested and prosocial motives—and the structure of moral identity. For... View Details
  • 18 Aug 2009
  • First Look

First Look: August 18

  Working PapersFeeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior Authors:Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn Abstract While lay... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
  • Research Summary

Overview

For the past several decades, income inequality in the United States has steadily increased. The extent of this inequality is exacerbated when making comparisons between the very rich and poor or men and women. Professor Exley’s research is driven by a desire to better... View Details
  • 05 Jul 2016
  • First Look

July 5, 2016

Influencing Human Behavior By: Reddy, Sheila M., Jensen Montambault, Yuta J. Masuda, Ayelet Gneezy, Elizabeth Keenan, William Butler, Jonathan R. Fisher, and Stanley T. Asah Abstract—Behavioral sciences can advance conservation by... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • Research Summary

Research

Professor Cuddy studies the origins and outcomes of how we perceive and are influenced by other people, investigating the roles of variables such as culture, emotions, nonverbal behaviors, and hormone levels. Much of her work focuses on social categories (e.g.,... View Details

  • Research Summary

Unintended Consequences of Fundraising Tactics

Charity fundraisers use a variety of methods to increase donations, with three of the most common being matching funds, seed money, and thank you gifts. Field experiments have shown that matching funds (Eckel and Grossman, 2008) and seed money (List and Lucking-Reiley,... View Details
  • 12 Sep 2017
  • First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017

forthcoming Research in Organizational Behavior Self-Managing Organizations: Exploring the Limits of Less Hierarchical Organizing By: Lee, Michael Y., and Amy C. Edmondson Abstract—Fascination with organizations that eschew the... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
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