‘I Will Help but not Everybody’ – Donating to Charity in a Deficit vs. Growth Condition: The Importance of Well-Being

Abstract

This study examined how the reason for donating influences the likelihood of charitable giving and whether well-being and happiness shape this relation. Students (N = 85) were asked to donate to either children struggling with learning (to reduce a deficit) or gifted children (to support growth). We expected that although generally people are more likely to offer money to reduce a deficit than to support growth, with an increase in happiness and well-being the difference in the odds of helping, resulting from these two motivations, would be diminished. The results showed that more people opted to help struggling children than gifted ones. Well-being and happiness were not related to willingness to help. They predicted the amount of support given, although the pattern of results was different for each psychological construct. The results are discussed with reference to a revised cost-reward model of intervention and concepts of well-being.

Keywords

• deficit vs. growth
• prosocial behavior
• well-being
• happiness
• prosocial spending
• donating