Watch Me Give: A Look at Narcissism as a Moderator to Donating to a Non-Profit
Disciplines
Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Narcissists are characterized as being less empathetic and having their identity more closely tied to feeling unique and special (Watson et al., 1984). Therefore, performing such a selfless task as giving someone money, without gaining recognition or a feeling of superiority seems unlikely. The present research proceeds under the belief that narcissism affects willingness to donate. Recognition has been shown to be positively related to donations when self-efficacy and self-involvement is low (Kim & Um, 2016). Related research by de Bellis et al. (2016) found that a “state narcissism” could be primed via marketing images. However, few researchers have analyzed primed narcissism as a moderating factor in a willingness to donating to a nonprofit. The purpose of Study 1 is to determine if there is a relationship between personality traits such as self-esteem and narcissism and giving behavior. Study 2 is meant to determine whether participants primed with narcissism would be willing to donate more to a nonprofit offering recognition, and vice versa. If a relationship between a primed state of narcissism and donating behavior exists, it could contribute to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to non-profit marketing and crowdfunding research.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Psychological Science
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Paul Story
Watch Me Give: A Look at Narcissism as a Moderator to Donating to a Non-Profit
Narcissists are characterized as being less empathetic and having their identity more closely tied to feeling unique and special (Watson et al., 1984). Therefore, performing such a selfless task as giving someone money, without gaining recognition or a feeling of superiority seems unlikely. The present research proceeds under the belief that narcissism affects willingness to donate. Recognition has been shown to be positively related to donations when self-efficacy and self-involvement is low (Kim & Um, 2016). Related research by de Bellis et al. (2016) found that a “state narcissism” could be primed via marketing images. However, few researchers have analyzed primed narcissism as a moderating factor in a willingness to donating to a nonprofit. The purpose of Study 1 is to determine if there is a relationship between personality traits such as self-esteem and narcissism and giving behavior. Study 2 is meant to determine whether participants primed with narcissism would be willing to donate more to a nonprofit offering recognition, and vice versa. If a relationship between a primed state of narcissism and donating behavior exists, it could contribute to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to non-profit marketing and crowdfunding research.