Affordances of altruism: How visual cues and message framing in donation boxes influence giving behavior

Department of Psychology, Caraga State University, Philippines.

^* Corresponding author: dqcillo@carsu.edu.ph

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations, particularly Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs), rely heavily on donations to sustain their efforts in protecting animals. Understanding what motivates giving is therefore essential. This study examined the effects of visual framing (positive and negative) and message framing (gain and loss) on donation behavior. A counterbalanced 2×2 within-subjects experimental design was employed with 60 undergraduate participants from Caraga State University. Participants interacted with four donation stations, representing each framing condition, and data were analyzed using JASP 0.18.3. Results showed a significant effect of visual framing: participants donated more when exposed to negatively framed images than to positively framed ones. Message framing showed no significant effect, and no interaction between visual and message framing was observed. These findings suggest that donation behavior is more influenced by visual cues than by message content. The study highlights the importance of incorporating emotionally compelling, negatively framed images in donation appeals, offering practical implications for AWOs and other nonprofit organizations seeking to enhance fundraising strategies.