Background: I have some draft posts saved in my Google Docs[1], but I have never posted them. This is because I am not confident with my English writing skills. However, Draft Amnesty Week feels like a now-or-never moment [2], so I’ve decided to post this anyway. This is my first time posting on the EA forum, so any encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Although this is my actual experiences and ideas, please note that I used chatGPT to make my essay easier to read.
My childhood experience with donation highlighted a surprising reluctance that many "good" parents, and people in general, exhibit when it comes to donating. This essay explores the underlying reasons for this reluctance and proposes a hypothesis on why even well-meaning individuals may hesitate to give more.
When I was a little child, I once asked my mother to donate to a donation box at the checkout. She agreed and put some change in it. Feeling a mischievous desire to provoke a reaction, I asked her to donate all the cash she had on her. I knew she didn’t have much money at the time, so I expected her to laugh it off. However, she showed clear reluctance. I was surprised because she is generally a "good" parent, and I expected that even if she denied donating more, it would be a mild refusal. This incident left me wondering why donating, which is considered a "good" thing, elicited such a reluctant response.
Even if other "good" parents were asked by their children to donate more, they would likely show the same reluctance. But why? This reluctance is not necessarily due to a lack of money. Imagine you are an indulgent parent who can afford to buy something for your child with that money. Would you [3]donate the same amount if asked? Probably not, and you would feel reluctant. This hesitation is also not solely because people think donations are often scams. If they believed that, they wouldn’t donate at all. Telling your child that donating a lot is a good thing, yet avoiding the topic in practice, suggests a deeper issue.
My hypothesis is this: It’s easier to explain why you don’t donate at all than why you don’t donate more, at least superficially. You can dismiss a tragedy as insignificant to you and claim that some organizations are responsible for addressing it. But once you donate, you implicitly acknowledge its importance and your valuation of it. Therefore, you can’t say it’s nothing while also giving to it.
To address this reluctance, it might be worth trying to alleviate the fear associated with the question, "Why don't you donate more?" This fear stems from a perceived obligation that once you start giving, you might be socially pressured to give more. By recognizing and addressing this psychological barrier, we can encourage more consistent and substantial donations.
Think back to the indulgent parent case from an economic perspective. One possible explanation is this: buying something for your child is not seen as a loss, but a donation is. Even if the child gains more utility from giving a donation, the parent perceives it as a loss. But why is that? Essentially, the donation is a present to your child.
The economics of gift giving is different from standard economics. For example, we don't gift money despite the fact that it is the most effective way to gift. This might also be the reason why parents are reluctant to donate. They do empathize, but donation feels fundamentally different from gifting.
Understanding the reluctance to donate involves recognizing the complex psychological factors at play. It's not just about the money or the belief in the efficacy of donations. It's about the perceived responsibility and the fear of setting a precedent, as well as the perceived loss and the abstract nature of donations compared to direct gifts. By addressing these underlying issues, we can create a more open and generous culture of giving.
thanks to some posts like these. These are not exhaustive, but I forget which one I read.
Especially, I was moved by this phrase. This is literally me.
"Many forum readers have some draft posts sitting in a Google Drive somewhere"
I'm thinking about the average people here. I'm not sure how the EA people would react.
