To imagine is to feel: The role of imagination in donation behavior

Title: To imagine is to feel: The role of imagination in donation behavior
Identifier: d_2009_2013:03002b1b936a:11787
identifier: 12395
Creator: Hildebrand, Diogo F.,
Contributor: Sankar Sen
Date: 2013
Language: English
Publisher: City University of New York.
Subject: Marketing | Charity appeals | Consumer behavior | Imagination
Abstract: This dissertation underscores the role of imagination in the effectiveness of charity appeals. It proposes that the effectiveness of charity appeals depends on multiple factors, including the perspective viewers take when simulating the sensations of the victims depicted in the charity appeal, the content of such imagination (i.e., sensations of deprivation or satiation), and the viewers' current state. Across five studies, this dissertation shows that when viewers engage in other-perspective imagination ("How are the victim's feelings?"), appeals portraying sensations of deprivation are more effective; whereas when viewers are engaging in self-perspective imagination ("How would I feel in that situation?"), appeals depicting sensations that match viewers' state will be most effective. The present findings challenge prior beliefs that deprivation appeals are necessarily more effective and discuss contributions for both theory and practice in charity advertisements.
Type: dissertation
Source: 2009_2013.csv
degree: Ph.D.
Program: Business