Would You Donate to a Researcher at an Amusement Park? The Backfiring Role of Incongruent Background in Charity Appeal.

Resumen

Visual cues play a crucial role in individuals' responses to charitable appeals. Across two preregistered studies (N₁ = 168, scientific research; N₂ = 197, medical research on cancer) we examined whether the congruence (vs. incongruence) between a visual charity appeal background and its cause increases generosity. In both studies, participants who saw a congruent background perceived their donation as more impactful, which in turn increased their motivation and willingness to donate. Unlike other contexts, such as e-commerce, where incongruence can capture consumers’ attention, our findings reveal that in charitable appeals an incongruent background can backfire, reducing donors’ generosity. These results offer nonprofits a simple but powerful communication lever to strengthen the effectiveness of their visual campaigns. Finally, we created a Congruence Index, cost-effective tool non-profits can use to evaluate the perception of congruence of their visual appeals with their cause to boost donations

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Vacondio, M., Priolo, G., Chiappi, A., Rubaltelli, E., & Caserotti, M. (2025). Would You Donate to a Researcher at an Amusement Park? The Backfiring Role of Incongruent Background in Charity Appeal.. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tb3hy_v1