The Psychology of (In)Effective Altruism

Lucius Caviola; Stefan Schubert; Joshua D Greene

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.015

The Psychology of (In)Effective Altruism

Trends Cogn Sci. 2021 Jul;25(7):596-607. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.015. Epub 2021 May 4.

Authors

Lucius Caviola¹, Stefan Schubert², Joshua D Greene³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: lcaviola@fas.harvard.edu.
² Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

PMID: 33962844
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.015

Abstract

The most effective charities are hundreds of times more effective than typical charities, yet few donors prioritize effectiveness. Why is that? How might we increase the effectiveness of charitable giving? We review the motivational and epistemic causes of (in)effective giving. Many donors view charitable giving as a matter of personal preference, which favors decisions based on emotional appeal rather than effectiveness. In addition, while many donors are motivated to give effectively, they often have misconceptions and cognitive biases that reduce effective giving. Nearly all research on charitable giving interventions focuses on increasing donation amounts. However, to increase societal benefit, donation effectiveness is likely to be more important. This underscores the need for research on strategies to encourage effective giving.

Keywords: charitable giving; effective altruism.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Altruism*
Charities
Emotions
Humans
Motivation*