What Kinds of Americans Give and Why? Approaches to (Financial) Giving

• In Event: 165 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Religion, Philanthropy, and Civic Participation

Abstract

What motivates Americans to donate their money, time, possessions, and take political action? Using data from a nationally representative sample of Americans, we describe four distinct types of givers. Social psychological processes related to internalization do motivate generous people, but differently for different types. Receiving reinforcement and a public identity are strong motivators for some types of generous Americans. A self-identity related to generosity is negatively correlated with habitual givers. Parental modeling of generosity did not distinguish one type of adult giver from any other. Showing the diversity of motivations for American givers emphasizes the need to account for heterogeneity and context when sociologists model non-ascriptive and fluid characteristics of people, such as generosity.

Authors

• Heather E. Price, University of Notre Dame

• Patricia Snell Herzog, University of Arkansas