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Anonymity, nonverbal communication and prosociality in digitized interactions: An experiment on charitable giving

Author

Listed:
  • Adam Zylbersztejn

    (Univ Lyon 2, Université Lumière Lyon 2, GATE UMR 5824, 69130 Ecully, France; research fellow at Vistula University Warsaw (AFiBV), Warsaw, Poland)

  • Zakaria Babutsidze

    (SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG) and OFCE, Sciences Po Paris, France)

  • Nobuyuki Hanaki

    (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, Japan; University of Limassol, Cyprus)

  • Marie-Sophie Roul

    (CGEMP, LEDa UMR 8007-260, University Paris Dauphine, PSL Research University, Place du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, 75016 Paris, France)

Abstract

We empirically examine the value of modern digital communication tools for inducing prosocial behavior. In our online experiment (N = 594), charity members transmit a standardized message to potential donors through alternative digital communication channels varying the amount of nonverbal content (written message in the baseline TEXT condition vs. voice recording in AUDIO vs. video-recorded discourse in VIDEO). We find partial support for the initial conjecture that individuals are more cooperative towards strangers the less anonymous the latter become to the former. Compared to the baseline TEXT condition, our AUDIO treatment induces a nearly 40% increase in the average donation. However, the transmission of nonverbal cues may backfire: the effect observed in the richest VIDEO condition has only half the magnitude of the one in AUDIO. We attribute this phenomenon to the “avoiding the ask” behavior previously documented in the charity giving literature. We also rule out the possibility that these treatment effects stem from perceptual mechanisms by which these changes in prosociality are driven by the differences in the perception of charity members in the stimuli, suggesting that the treatment effects capture the intrinsic value of reducing anonymity for promoting prosociality in the digital world.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Zylbersztejn & Zakaria Babutsidze & Nobuyuki Hanaki & Marie-Sophie Roul, 2024. "Anonymity, nonverbal communication and prosociality in digitized interactions: An experiment on charitable giving," Working Papers 2402, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    • Handle: RePEc:gat:wpaper:2402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital communication; nonverbal content; charitable giving; online; economic experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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