The Role of Implicit Theories in Motivating Donations in Response to Threat-Based Awe

• Published in: Journal of public policy & marketing Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 72 - 88
• Main Authors: Septianto, Felix, Seo, Yuri, Paramita, Widya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Consumers; Donations; Natural disasters; Threats; threat-based awe; prosocial behavior; disaster relief; implicit theories
• DOI: 10.1177/07439156211042281
• ISSN: 0743-9156

The present research investigates how charitable giving in response to threat-based awe, an emotional experience that typically accompanies disaster-relief campaigns, is likely to depend on consumers’ implicit theories. Although consumers want to behave prosocially when experiencing threat-based awe, due to the presence of threats, such behavior depends on whether they believe that their donations have sufficient efficacy. Consequently, in response to threat-based awe, consumers holding an incremental (vs. entity) theory perceive greater efficacy for their donations, which subsequently increases their charitable giving. These predictions are tested across five experimental studies. The findings of this research contribute to the literature on implicit theories and the emotion of awe and offer a more nuanced approach to how different consumers may be motivated to engage in charitable giving in the context of natural disasters.