Abstract
The identifiable victim effect (IVE) refers to individuals’ tendency to offer greater aid to identifiable victims than to statistical victims. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether emotional reactions work to mediate IVE. In two experiments based on the experimental-causal-chain design proposed by Spencer et al. (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 845–851, 2005), it was shown that an identifiable victim evokes stronger emotional reactions than does a statistical victim (Study 1). It was also demonstrated that the identifiable victim shown or described with a specific expression or information to evoke stronger emotional reactions elicited greater willingness to donate money in participants (Study 2). The results of two studies based on the experimental-causal-chain approach demonstrated that the underlying causal mechanism for the IVE is participants’ emotional reactions to identified victims. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The scenarios were created using factual information taken from the Save the Children website (http://www.savethechildren.org/).
References
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
Chaiken, S. (1980). Heuristic versus systematic information processing and the use of sources versus message cues in persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 752–766.
Cryder, C. E., Loewenstein, G., & Scheines, R. (2013). The donor is in the details. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 120, 15–23.
Dillard, J. P., Shen, L., & Vail, R. G. (2007). Does perceived message effectiveness cause persuasion or vice versa? 17 consistent answers. Human Communication Research, 33, 467–488.
Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., Gaertner, S., Schroeder, D. A., & Clark, R. D. (1991). The arousal cost-reward model and the process of intervention: a review of the evidence. In M. Clark (Ed.), Prosocial behavior: review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 12, pp. 86–118). Newberry Park: Sage.
Duncan, B. (2004). A theory of impact philanthropy. Journal of Public Economics, 88, 2159–2180.
Erlandsson, A., Björklund, F., & Bäckström, M. (2015). Emotional reactions, perceived impact and perceived responsibility mediate the identifiable victim effect, proportion dominance effect and in-group effect respectively. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 127, 1–14.
Feeley, T. H., Marshall, H. M., & Reinhart, A. M. (2006). Reactions to narrative and statistical written messages promoting organ donation. Communication Reports, 19, 89–100.
Friedrich, J., & McGuire, A. (2010). Individual differences in reasoning style as a moderator of the identifiable victim effect. Social Influence, 5, 182–201.
Hoyt, W. T. (2000). Rater bias in psychological research: when is it a problem and what can we do about it? Psychological Methods, 5, 64–86.
Kogut, T., & Ritov, I. (2005a). The identifiable victim effect: an identified group, or just a single individual? Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 18, 157–167.
Kogut, T., & Ritov, I. (2005b). The singularity effect of identified victims in separate and joint evaluations. Organization Behavior and Human Decision Process, 97, 106–116.
Lee, S., & Feeley, T. H. (2016). The identifiable victim effect: a meta-analytic review. Social Influence, 11, 199–215.
Petty, R. E., & Cacciopo, J. T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Piliavin, I. M., Rodin, J., & Piliavin, J. (1969). Good samaritanism: an underground phenomenon? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 289–299.
Pirlott, A. G., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2016). Design approaches to experimental mediation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2015.09.012.
Ritov, I., & Kogut, T. (2011). Ally or adversary: the effect of identifiability in inter-group conflict situations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 116, 96–103.
Schelling, T. C. (1968). The life you save may be your own. In S. Chase (Ed.), Problems in public expenditure analysis. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institute.
Slovic, P. (2007). “If I look at the mass I will never act”: Psychic numbing and genocide. Judgment and Decision making, 2, 79–95.
Small, D. A. (2015). On the psychology of the identifiable victim effect. In I. G. Cohen, N. Daniels, & N. Eyal (Eds.), Identified versus statistical lives: an interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 13–23). New York: Oxford University Press.
Small, D. A., & Loewenstein, G. (2003). Helping a victim or helping the victim: altruism and identifiability. The Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 26, 5–16.
Small, D. A., & Verrochi, N. M. (2009). The face of need: facial emotion expression on charity advertisements. Journal of Marketing Research, 46, 777–787.
Small, D. A., Loewenstein, G., & Slovic, P. (2007). Sympathy and callousness: the impact of deliberative thought on donations to identifiable and statistical victims. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 102, 143–153.
Smith, E. R. (2012). Editorial. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 1–3.
Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2005). Establishing a causal chain: why experiments are often more effective than mediational analyses in examining psychological processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 845–851.
TV reviews—network: Everybody’s baby. (1989, May 31). Variety, 3335, 7.
World of Children Award (2015). How to end child hunger and malnutrition. Retrieved July 17, 2015, from http://www.worldofchildren.org/issues/end-child-hunger/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Conflict of Interest
The Author's declares that they has no conflict of interest.
Appendices
Appendix 1. Study 1 Stimuli
Instructions for Statistical Victim Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for children who are at risk of hunger in an African country. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of Statistical Victim Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. As a result, an estimated 5 million Ethiopian children face the threat of severe hunger or even starvation. With a financial donation, you could improve the lives of these children. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed them, help educate them, and provide them with basic medical care.
Instructions for Identifiable Victim Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for a child who is at risk of hunger in an African country. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of Identifiable Victim Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. Particularly, Robinio (a 7-year-old boy, the picture on the left), who is desperately poor, faces the threat of severe hunger or even starvation. With a financial donation, you could improve the life of this child. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed him, help educate him, and provide him with basic medical care.
Appendix 2. Study 2 Stimuli
Instructions for Low Sympathy Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for a child who is at risk of hunger in an African country, and that you have the means to donate to the organization. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of Low Sympathy Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. Particularly, Robinio (a 7-year-old boy, the picture on the left), who is desperately poor, faces the threat of severe hunger or even starvation. With a financial donation, you could improve the life of this child. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed him, help educate him, and provide him with basic medical care.
Instructions for High Sympathy Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for a child who is at risk of hunger in an African country, and that you have the means to donate to the organization. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of High Sympathy Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. Particularly, Robinio (a 7-year-old boy, the picture on the left), who is desperately poor, faces the threat of severe hunger or even starvation. With a financial donation, you could improve the life of this child. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed him, help educate him, and provide him with basic medical care.
Instructions for Low Distress Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for a child who is at risk of hunger in an African country, and that you have the means to donate to the organization. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of Low Distress Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. Particularly, Robinio (a 7-year-old boy), who is desperately poor, faces the threat of severe hunger or even starvation. With a financial donation, you could improve the life of this child. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed him, help educate him, and provide him with basic medical care.
Instructions for High Distress Condition
Imagine that you have received a charity request letter from an international humanitarian aid organization for a child who is at risk of hunger in an African country, and that you have the means to donate to the organization. This organization is officially accredited and targets developing countries to improve the situation of children through long-term programs and projects. Please read the following charity request letter carefully and complete the questionnaire below.
Scenario of High Distress Condition
Ethiopia has been faced with a severe drought across normally green and productive regions; this natural disaster is the worst in Ethiopia’s recent history. The drought has resulted in an enormous reduction in the production of crops, which in turn has led to a food crisis in Ethiopia. Particularly, Robino (a 7-year-old boy, the picture on the left), who is desperately poor, faces at a threat of severe hunger or even starvation. His parents died when he was 1 year old and he lived with his grandmother until she could not take care of him anymore. He does not attend primary school and has occasional nightmares. With a financial donation, you could improve the life of this child. Specifically, your financial gift would be used to feed him, help educate him, and provide him with basic medical care.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, S., Feeley, T.H. The Identifiable Victim Effect: Using an Experimental-Causal-Chain Design to Test for Mediation. Curr Psychol 37, 875–885 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9570-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9570-3