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Social Class Shapes Donation Allocation Preferences
[Similarity and Empathy: The Experience of Rape]

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  • Yan Vieites
  • Rafael Goldszmidt
  • Eduardo B Andrade

Abstract

When considering a charitable act, consumers must often decide on how to allocate their resources across a multitude of possible causes. This article assesses how the relative “urgency” of the causes under consideration (i.e., how critical to human survival the causes are) shapes preferences for specific causes among higher and lower social class consumers. Across a series of studies in a highly unequal socioeconomic environment (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), we demonstrate that lower-class consumers prefer to donate to urgent causes (e.g., alleviating hunger) compared to non-urgent causes (e.g., encouraging cultural activities), whereas the effect reverses among higher-class consumers. Contrasting experiences with scarcity across social classes vary the consumers’ intrinsic sympathy toward people’s unmet basic needs, which in turn shapes donation allocation preferences. Consistent with this theoretical rationale, class differences in charitable allocations decrease when (a) vivid contextual cues induce sympathy among both higher- and lower-class consumers or (b) the experience with scarcity is similar across social classes. Thus, although class differences in preferences for specific causes can be shifted with relative ease, our findings suggest that those who have the most to give do not spontaneously prioritize what is most urgently needed in society.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Vieites & Rafael Goldszmidt & Eduardo B Andrade, 2022. "Social Class Shapes Donation Allocation Preferences [Similarity and Empathy: The Experience of Rape]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 48(5), pages 775-795.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:48:y:2022:i:5:p:775-795.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jcr/ucab033
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Shi, Yujie & Mao, Jih-Yu & Guo, Li & Mu, Xinyan & Liu, Wenxing & He, Weiqun, 2024. "License for Wrongdoing: Why better relationships with leaders lead to employee unethical behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).

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