A demonstration field experiment in a live-radio fund drive shows that women (but not men) primed with moral traits give about 20% more. The authors test one understudied explanation for this finding: gender differences in how market behavior (e.g., giving and supporting a nonprofit) shrinks moral identity discrepancy (i.e., the gap between actual and ideal moral identity). Field Survey 1 demonstrates the basic effect: the less money women (but not men) have historically given on average to a nonprofit, the larger their moral identity discrepancy. Field Experiment 2 shows a managerial implication of this basic effect: when primed with moral identity, women (but not men) who have supported the nonprofit less frequently in the past are more likely to follow an emailed link to help the nonprofit again. Study 3 tests one possible pathway underpinning this finding: even though giving makes women and men experience similar feelings of encouragement and uplift and similar reinforcement of their moral identity, only women with larger prebehavior moral identity discrepancy consequently shrink this discrepancy.
AkninLara B.Barrington-LeighChristopher P.DunnElizabeth W.HelliwellJohn F.BurnsJustineBiswas-DienerRobert, et al. (2013), “Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104 (4), 635–52.
2.
AlgoeSara B.HaidtJonathan (2009), “Witnessing Excellence in Action: The ‘Other-Praising’ Emotions of Elevation, Gratitude, and Admiration,” Journal of Positive Psychology, 4 (2), 105–27.
3.
AquinoKarlMcFerranBrentLavenMarjorie (2011), “Moral Identity and the Experience of Moral Elevation in Response to Acts of Uncommon Goodness,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100 (4), 703–18.
4.
AquinoKarlReedAmericusII (2002), “The Self-Importance of Moral Identity,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83 (6), 1423–40.
5.
ArmstrongThomasDetweiler-BedellBrian (2008), “Beauty as an Emotion: The Exhilarating Prospect of Mastering a Challenging World,” Review of General Psychology, 12 (4), 305–29.
6.
BanduraAlbert (1986), Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
7.
BanduraAlbert (1989), “Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory,” American Psychologist, 44 (9), 1175–84.
8.
BanduraAlbert (1991), “Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (2), 248–87.
9.
BanduraAlbert (2001), “Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective,” Annual Review of Psychology, 52 (1), 1–26.
10.
BauerDaniel J.CurranPatrick J. (2005), “Probing Interactions in Fixed and Multilevel Regression: Inferential and Graphical Techniques,” Multivariate Behavioral Research, 40 (3), 373–400.
11.
BoegershausenJohannesAquinoKarlReedAmericusII (2015), “Moral Identity,” Current Opinion in Psychology, 6, 162–66.
12.
BolderoJenniferFrancisJill (2000), “The Relation Between Self-Discrepancies and Emotion: The Moderating Roles of Self-Guide Importance, Location Relevance, and Social Self-Domain Centrality,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78 (1), 38–52.
13.
BroughAaron R.WilkieJames E.B.MaJingjingIsaacMathew S.GalDavid (2016), “Is Eco-Friendly Unmanly? The Green-Feminine Stereotype and Its Effect on Sustainable Consumption,” Journal of Consumer Research, 43 (4), 567–82.
14.
BryanChristopher J.MasterAllisonWaltonGregory M. (2014), “‘Helping’ Versus ‘Being a Helper’: Invoking the Self to Increase Helping in Young Children,” Child Development, 85 (5), 1836–42.
15.
CantorNancyAckerMicheleCook-FlannaganCarol (1992), “Conflict and Preoccupation in the Intimacy Life Task,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63 (4), 644–55.
16.
CarverCharles S. (2015), “Control Processes, Priority Management, and Affective Dynamics,” Emotion Review, 7 (4), 301–07.
17.
CarverCharles S.ScheierMichael F. (1982), “Control Theory: A Useful Conceptual Framework for Personality–Social, Clinical, and Health Psychology,” Psychological Bulletin, 92 (1), 111–35.
18.
CarverCharles S.ScheierMichael F. (1990), “Origins and Functions of Positive and Negative Affect: A Control-Process View,” Psychological Review, 97 (1), 19–35.
19.
Charities Aid Foundation (2018), [World Giving Index 2018: A Global View of Giving Trends]. Kent, UK: Charities Aid Foundation.
20.
CrosonRachelShangJen (2011), “Limits of the Effect of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods: Evidence from Field Experiments,” Economic Inquiry, 51 (1), 473–77.
21.
CrossSusan E.BaconPamela L.MorrisMichael L. (2000), “The Relational- Interdependent Self-Construal and Relationships,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78 (4), 791–808.
22.
CrossSusan E.MadsonLaura (1997), “Models of the Self: Self-Construals and Gender,” Psychological Bulletin, 122 (1), 5–37.
DittmarHelgaHalliwellEmmaIveSuzanne (2006), “Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls,” Developmental Psychology, 42 (2), 283–92.
25.
EdwardsJeffrey R. (2001), “Ten Difference Score Myths,” Organizational Research Methods, 4 (3), 265–87.
26.
Else-QuestNicole M.HigginsAshleyAllisonCarlieMortonLindsay C. (2012), “Gender Differences in Self-Conscious Emotional Experience: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin, 138 (5), 947–81.
27.
FreemanDanAquinoKarlMcFerranBrent (2009), “Overcoming Beneficiary Race as an Impediment to Charitable Donations: Social Dominance Orientation, the Experience of Moral Elevation, and Donation Behavior,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35 (1), 72–84.
28.
FurrR. MichaelBacharachVerne R. (2008), Psychometrics: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
29.
GabrielShiraGardnerWendi L. (1999), “Are There ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ Types of Interdependence? The Implications of Gender Differences in Collective Versus Relational Interdependence for Affect, Behavior, and Cognition,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (3), 642–55.
30.
GivingUSA (2018), Giving USA 2018: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2017. Glenview, IL: American Association of Fundraising Counsel.
31.
GrossmanMicheleWoodWendy (1993), “Sex Differences in Intensity of Emotional Experience: A Social Role Interpretation,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (5), 1010–22.
32.
HaidtJonathan (2000), “The Positive Emotion of Elevation,” Prevention and Treatment, 3. DOI: 10.1037/1522-3736.3.1.33c.
33.
HaidtJonathan (2007), “The New Synthesis in Moral Psychology,” Science, 316 (5827), 998–1002.
34.
HankinBenjamin L.AbramsonLyn Y. (2001), “Development of Gender Differences in Depression: An Elaborated Cognitive Vulnerability–transactional Stress Theory,” Psychological Bulletin, 127 (6), 773–96.
35.
HavensJohn J.O’HerlihyMary A.SchervishPaul G. (2006), “Charitable Giving: How Much, By Whom, to What, and How,” in The Non-Profit Sector: A Research Handbook, SteinbergR.PowellW.W., eds. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 542–67.
36.
HayesAndrew F. (2013), Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach, 2nd ed. New York: The Guilford Press.
37.
HayesAndrew F.MatthesJörg (2009), “Computational Procedures for Probing Interactions in OLS and Logistic Regression: SPSS and SAS Implementations,” Behavioral Research Methods, 41 (3), 924–36.
38.
HigginsEdward T. (1987), “Self-Discrepancy: A Theory Relating Self and Affect,” Psychological Review, 94 (3), 319–40.
39.
HigginsEdward T. (1999), “When do Self-discrepancies Have Specific Relations to Emotions? The Second-Generation Question of Tangney, Niedenthal, Covert, and Barlow (1998),” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (6), 1313–17.
40.
IrwinJulie R.McClellandGary H. (2001), “Misleading Heuristics and Moderated Multiple Regression Models,” Journal of Marketing Research, 38 (1), 100–109.
41.
JehnKaren A.ChatmanJennifer A. (2000), “The Influence of Proportional and Perceptual Conflict Composition on Team Performance,” International Journal of Conflict Management, 11 (1), 56–73.
42.
JiangLanHoeggJoandreaDahlDarren W.ChattopadhyayAmitava (2010), “The Persuasive Role of Incidental Similarity on Attitudes and Purchase Intentions in a Sales Context,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (5), 778–91.
43.
JordanJenniferMullenElizabethMurnighanJ. Keith (2011), “Striving for the Moral Self: The Effects of Recalling Past Moral Actions on Future Moral Behavior,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37 (5), 701–13.
44.
KennedyJessica A.KrayLaura J.KuGillian (2017), “A Social-Cognitive Approach to Understanding Gender Differences in Negotiator Ethics: The Role of Moral Identity,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 138, 28–44.
45.
Kish-GephartJennifer J.HarrisonDavid A.TreviñoLinda Klebe (2010), “Bad Apples, Bad Cases, and Bad Barrels: Meta-Analytic Evidence About Sources of Unethical Decisions at Work,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 95 (1), 1–31.
46.
LeeRichard M.RobbinsSteven B. (1995), “Measuring Belongingness: The Social Connectedness and the Social Assurance Scales,” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42 (2), 232–41.
47.
MarkusHazelKundaZiva (1986), “Stability and Malleability of the Self-Concept,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (4), 858–66.
48.
McFarlandLynne A.RyanAnn Marie (2000), “Variance in Faking Across Noncognitive Measures,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 85 (5), 812–21.
49.
McFarlandLynne A.RyanAnn Marie (2006), “Toward an Integrated Model of Applicant Faking Behavior,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36 (4), 979–1016.
50.
MercadilloRoberto E.AlcauterSaraelFernández-RuizJuanBarriosFernando A. (2015), “Police Culture Influences the Brain Function Underlying Compassion: A Gender Study,” Social Neuroscience, 10 (2), 135–52.
51.
MeschDebra J.BrownMelissa S.MooreZachary I.HayatAmir D. (2011), “Gender Differences in Charitable Giving,” International Journal of Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 16 (4), 342–55.
52.
MeschDebra J.RooneyPatrick M.SteinbergKathryn S.DentonBrian (2006), “The Effects of Race, Gender, and Marital Status on Giving and Volunteering in Indiana,” Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35 (4), 565–87.
53.
MontoyaAmanda Kay (2019), “Moderation Analysis in Two-Instance Repeated Measures Designs: Probing Methods and Multiple Moderator Models,” Behavior Research Methods, 51 (1), 61–82.
54.
MontoyaAmanda KayHayesAndrew F. (2017), “Two-Condition Within-Participant Statistical Mediation Analysis: A Path-Analytic Framework,” Psychological Methods, 22 (1), 6–27.
55.
NunnallyJum C. (1978), Psychometric Theory, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
56.
PohlingRicoDiessnerRhett (2016), “Moral Elevation and Moral Beauty: A Review of the Empirical Literature,” Review of General Psychology, 20 (4), 412–25.
57.
ReedAmericusIIAquinoKarl (2003), “Moral Identity and the Expanding Circle of Moral Regard Toward Out-Groups,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (6), 1270–86.
58.
ReedAmericusIIForehandMark R. (2016), “The Ebb and Flow of Consumer Identities: The Role of Memory, Emotions and Threats”, Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 94–100.
59.
ReedAmericusIIForehandMark R., eds. (2019), Handbook of Research on Identity Theory in Marketing. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
60.
ReedAmericusIIForehandMark R.PuntoniStefanoWarlopLuk (2012), “Identity-Based Consumer Behavior,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29 (4), 310–21.
61.
RoneyChristopher J.R.SorrentinoRichard M. (1995), “Reducing Self-Discrepancies or Maintaining Self-Congruence? Uncertainty Orientation, Self-Regulation, and Performance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68 (3), 485–97.
62.
SachdevaSonyaIlievRumenMedinDouglas L. (2009), “Sinning Saints and Saintly Sinners: The Paradox of Moral Self-Regulation,” Psychological Science, 20 (4), 523–28.
63.
SargeantAdrianShangJen (2017), Fundraising Principles and Practice, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
64.
SchwartzShalom H. (2007), “Universalism Values and the Inclusiveness of Our Moral Universe,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38 (6), 711–28.
65.
ShangJenCrosonRachel (2009), “A Field Experiment in Charitable Contribution: The Impact of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods,” Economic Journal, 119 (540), 1422–39.
66.
ShangJenReed IIAmericusSargeantAdrianCarpenterKathryn (2020), “How Does Internalized Moral Identity and Gender Influence Giving?” Working Paper Series,Plymouth, UK: Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy.
67.
StraumanTimothy J.HigginsEdward T. (1987), “Automatic Activation of Self- Discrepancies and Emotional Syndromes: When Cognitive Structures Influence Affect,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53 (6), 1004–14.
United Nations (2015), Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly on 25th September 2015, New York: United Nations.
70.
VallacherRobin R.WegnerDaniel M. (1987), “What Do People Think They’re Doing? Action Identification and Human Behavior,” Psychological Review, 94 (1), 3–15.
71.
WatkinsEdward R. (2008), “Constructive and Unconstructive Repetitive Thought,” Psychological Bulletin, 134 (2), 163–206.
72.
WhitleyBernard E.NelsonAmanda BichlmeierJonesCurtis J. (1999), “Gender Differences in Cheating Attitudes and Classroom Cheating Behavior: A Meta-Analysis,” Sex Roles, 41 (9), 657–80.
73.
WilkowskiBenjamin M.RobinsonMichael D.FriesenChris Kelland (2009), “Gaze-Triggered Orienting as a Tool of the Belongingness Self-Regulation System,” Psychological Science, 20 (4), 495–501.
74.
WilliamsonGail M.ClarkMargaret S. (1992), “Impact of Desired Relationship Type on Affective Reactions to Choosing and Being Required to Help,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18 (1), 10–18.
75.
WinterichKaren P.CarterRobert E.BaroneMichaelJanakiramanRamkumarBezawadaRam (2015), “’Tis Better to Give Than to Receive? How and When Gender and Residence-Based Segments Predict Choice of Donation Versus Discount-Based Promotions,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25 (4), 622–34.
76.
WinterichKaren P.MittalVikasRossWilliam T.Jr. (2009), “Donation Behavior Toward In-Groups and Out-Groups: The Role of Gender and Moral Identity,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (2), 199–214.
77.
ZhangYinlongFeickLawrenceMittalVikas (2014), “How Males and Females Differ in Their Likelihood of Transmitting Negative Word of Mouth,” Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (6), 1097–1108.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
