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Economic evaluation: The effect of money and economics on attitudes about volunteering

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  • Pfeffer, Jeffrey
  • DeVoe, Sanford E.

Abstract

Recent research shows that hourly payment affects decisions about time use in ways that disfavor uncompensated activities such as volunteering. This paper extends that argument by showing that the activation of money and economics as aspects of a person's self-concept is one mechanism possibly producing these results. Study 1 showed that employed adults explicitly primed to think about their own time in terms of money were less willing to volunteer compared to those primed to think about another person's time in terms of money, illustrating the importance of the self-concept in the economic evaluation of time. Mediation analyses showed that participants' view of themselves as economic evaluators fully accounted for both the effect of the manipulation and variation in prior experience with hourly payment on willingness to volunteer. Study 2 showed the undergraduates supraliminally primed with either money or economic concepts were less willing to volunteer their time. The findings suggest that economic evaluation is one causal mechanism affecting attitudes about time use.

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  • Pfeffer, Jeffrey & DeVoe, Sanford E., 2009. "Economic evaluation: The effect of money and economics on attitudes about volunteering," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 500-508, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:30:y:2009:i:3:p:500-508
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    1. Noemi Mantovan & Robert M. Sauer & John Wilson, 2022. "The effect of work‐schedule control on volunteering among early career employees," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(3), pages 536-562, September.
    2. Yeomans, Michael & Al-Ubaydli, Omar, 2018. "How does fundraising affect volunteering? Evidence from a natural field experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 57-72.
    3. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko Demotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Post-Print hal-01576949, HAL.
    4. Ruttan, Rachel L. & Lucas, Brian J., 2018. "Cogs in the machine: The prioritization of money and self-dehumanization," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 47-58.
    5. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko DeMotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela & Laura PeracchioEditor & Gita JoharEditor & Jaideep SenguptaAssociate Editor, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 738-758.
    6. John Ifcher & Homa Zarghamee & Dan Houser & Lina Diaz, 2020. "The relative income effect: an experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(4), pages 1205-1234, December.
    7. Alexander L. Davis & Nadja R. Jehli & John H. Miller & Roberto A. Weber, 2011. "Generosity across contexts," ECON - Working Papers 050, Department of Economics - University of Zurich, revised Mar 2015.
    8. Gasiorowska, Agata, 2012. "Psychologiczne skutki aktywacji idei pieniędzy a obdarowywanie bliskich [The psychological consequences of mere exposure to money and gift-giving]," MPRA Paper 48170, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Vanessa Mertins & Susanne Warning, 2013. "Gender Differences in Responsiveness to a Homo Economicus Prime in the Gift-Exchange Game," IAAEU Discussion Papers 201309, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    10. Teng, Fei & Chen, Zhansheng & Poon, Kai-Tak & Zhang, Denghao & Jiang, Yuwei, 2016. "Money and relationships: When and why thinking about money leads people to approach others," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 58-70.
    11. Whillans, Ashley V. & Dunn, Elizabeth W., 2015. "Thinking about time as money decreases environmental behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 44-52.
    12. Anna Olga Kuzminska, 2014. "Konsekwencje aktywizacji kategorii zwiazanych z wladza i pieniedzmi (The consequences of activation of categories associated with power and money)," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 12(45), pages 66-80.
    13. Ting Liao & Erin F. MacDonald, 2021. "Priming on Sustainable Design Idea Creation and Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-23, May.
    14. Hong Zhang & Jiawei Zhu & Li Wei & Wenting Zhang, 2021. "A Comparison between the Psychological Benefits of Giving Money vs. Giving Time," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2677-2701, August.
    15. Goff, Sandra H. & Waring, Timothy M. & Noblet, Caroline L., 2017. "Does Pricing Nature Reduce Monetary Support for Conservation?: Evidence From Donation Behavior in an Online Experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 119-126.
    16. Diogo Hildebrand & Yoshiko Demotta & Sankar Sen & Ana Valenzuela, 2017. "Consumer Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Contribution Type," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01576949, HAL.
    17. Maura A. Belliveau, 2012. "Engendering Inequity? How Social Accounts Create vs. Merely Explain Unfavorable Pay Outcomes for Women," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 1154-1174, August.
    18. Bohns, Vanessa K. & Newark, Daniel A. & Xu, Amy Z., 2016. "For a dollar, would you…? How (we think) money affects compliance with our requests," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 45-62.

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    Economics Money Time Volunteering;

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