The possibility that there might be an optimum size and color for selecting the physical appearance of a letter asking for donations to an art museum was examined in this study. University students' self-reports of willingness to give was the dependent variable. Size, color, and their interaction were statistically significant factors. The results were interpreted as supporting the idea that an optimum letter size and color do exist for letters soliciting charitable donations for an art museum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllenC. T. (1982) Self-perception based strategies for stimulating energy conservation. Journal of Consumer Research, 8, 381–390.
2.
BerkowitzL.DanielsL. R. (1963) Responsibility and dependance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 429–436.
3.
CarlsonM.CharlinV.MillerN. (1988) Positive mood and helping behavior: A test of six hypotheses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 211–229.
4.
CialdiniR. B.SchroederD. A. (1976) Increasing contributions by legitimizing paltry donations: When even a penny helps. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 599–604.
5.
EdwardsA. E. (1971) Experimental design in psychological research. (4th ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
6.
KettlewellN. M. (1988) Optimum design for letters soliciting contributions for an art museum. Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
7.
KrautR. E. (1973) Effects of social labeling on giving to charity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 9, 551–562.
8.
LevyB. I. (1984) Research into the psychological meaning of color. American Journal of Art Therapy, 23, 58–62.
9.
ReingenP. H. (1978) On inducing compliance with requests. Journal of Consumer Research, 5, 96–102.
10.
ReingenP. H. (1982) Test of a list procedure for inducing compliance with a request to donate money. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 110–118.
11.
TyboutA. M.YalchR. F. (1980) The effect of experience: A matter of salience?Journal of Consumer Research, 6, 406–413.
12.
WeyantJ. M. (1984) Applying social psychology to induce charitable donations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14, 441–447.
