Jun 27 2009
Social Visibility and Individual Effort
Research on charitable giving out of the school of economics at Tel Aviv University has measured another aspect of human social nature. They found -
giving was affected by how visible the participation was. The more public, the greater the image boost, and the greater the contribution.
This effect of social visibility increasing “giving,” however, stood only for effort at some task. In terms of monetary contribution, these were larger when given in private.
Fascinating. Why should it matter if others see us contributing, or not? Because we are social creatures. Is the opinion of others a resource we unconsciously cultivate?
