Watch Me Give: A Look at Narcissism as a Moderator to Donating to a Non-Profit
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Paul Story
Department
RCHSS - Psychological Science
Abstract
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.
Disciplines
Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
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.