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Altruistic self-concept mediates the effects of personality traits on volunteering: Evidence from an online experiment

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  • Capra, C. Mónica
  • Jiang, Bing
  • Su, Yuxin

Abstract

We study experimentally the effect of personality traits on the willingness to make and keep a promise to volunteer. In our experiment, Amazon Mechanical Turk participants were given the option to volunteer by donating time and effort to a charity. They also answered a series of questionnaires, including the Big Five personality test and attitudinal questions that we used to construct an index representing altruistic self-concept. Self-concept refers to the way we describe and evaluate ourselves. We find that altruistic self-concept mediates how personality affects volunteering decisions. In particular, agreeableness has a strong influence on the probability of making and keeping promises to volunteer through its effect on altruistic self-concept. Our findings have useful implications for non-profit organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Capra, C. Mónica & Jiang, Bing & Su, Yuxin, 2021. "Altruistic self-concept mediates the effects of personality traits on volunteering: Evidence from an online experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:92:y:2021:i:c:s2214804321000379
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2021.101697
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    Cited by:

    1. C. Mónica Capra & Bing Jiang & Yuxin Su, 2022. "Do pledges lead to more volunteering? An experimental study," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 87-100, January.
    2. Capra, C. Mónica & Jiang, Bing & Su, Yuxin, 2024. "Green self-image boosts online volunteering for environmental causes: Experimental evidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 110(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Charitable donations; Volunteering; Personality; Self-concept; Experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers

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