Poster #104 - The Role of Empathy and Morality in Counteracting Non-Neutrality in Charitable Giving and Welfare Support

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

In the United States, poverty alleviation relies on both the government and nonprofit sectors. If racial bias reduces charitable giving and support for welfare policies, then public support—shaped by such bias—constrains the resources available to racially marginalized communities. Prior research finds that people tend to reduce their charitable giving and welfare support when beneficiaries are racial out-groups (Fong & Luttmer, 2009, 2011; Gross & Wronski, 2021). Existing studies rely on self-reported racial attitudes, which are prone to social desirability bias, and evidence on implicit bias remains limited to hypothetical contexts with inconsistent effects on giving behavior (Bhati, 2021; Harell et al., 2016). Although empathy and the moral principle of care are positively associated with both welfare support and charitable giving (Bekkers & Ottoni-Wilhelm, 2016; Bor & Simonovits, 2021), whether they can counteract the negative effects of implicit bias on giving and welfare support remains unknown. This study addresses two research questions: (1) Does implicit racial bias causally reduce charitable giving to poverty alleviation organizations and support for welfare policies? (2) Do empathy and the principle of care moderate these negative effects?

This study draws on two data sources: a nationally representative panel survey, the 2008–2009 American National Election Study (ANES), and a pre-registered lab-in-the-field experiment conducted in collaboration with the United Way. The sample consists of White Americans (aged 18+) from the ANES (n = 1,317) and participants recruited for the experiment (N = 300). In the experiment, participants complete real-effort tasks to earn $17, which they may keep or donate within the survey. Using a between-subjects design, participants are randomly assigned to conditions in which they receive identical United Way fundraising messages paired with different client images (White or Black Americans). Key measures include the Implicit Association Test, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index for empathy (Davis, 1994), the principle of care scale (Bekkers & Ottoni-Wilhelm, 2016), self-reported charitable giving to poverty alleviation, and welfare support. OLS regression models estimate main effects and interaction terms, with income as a covariate. The experiment is scheduled for May 2026.

Analysis of the ANES indicates that implicit racial bias is negatively associated with charitable giving and welfare support among white Americans (n = 1,317). Furthermore, empathy and endorsement of the principle of care moderate these associations. However, these findings are correlational and do not establish causal direction. An experiment will be conducted in collaboration with the United Way in May 2026, and findings from the experiment with real giving will provide causal evidence for these relationships

Therefore, this study investigates whether empathy and the principle of care can counteract the negative effects of implicit bias on both charitable contributions and support for welfare policies. The findings of this study highlight not only the impact of implicit bias on economic disparities but also the social benefits of integrating empathy and the principle of care into public education and fundraising practices. Furthermore, this study demonstrates methodological contributions by employing a lab-in-the-field experimental design that directly measures a real-dollar charitable giving to the United Way.

Author

• Shinyoung Park, Indiana University
  Presenting Author