PSYC 4850I - ST Psych of Generosity
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 01, CRN 43962,
Credit hours: 3
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
Ying (Joy) Tang, Ph.D.
Email: yjtang@ysu.edu
Course Description
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | See Reading List below |
Achieve & The Case Foundation. (2019). The Millennial Impact Report: 10 years looking back. Achieve & The Case Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.themillennialimpact.com/
Allen, S. (2018). The science of generosity. A white paper prepared for the John Templeton Foundation by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
Anik, L., Norton, M. I., & Ariely, D. (2014). Contingent match incentives increase donations. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(6), 790–801.
Bateson, M., Nettle, D., & Roberts, G. (2006). Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting. Biology Letters, 2(3), 412–414.
Bekkers, R., & Wiepking, P. (2007). Understanding Philanthropy: A Review of 50 Years of Theories and Research. Default journal.
Bekkers, R., & Wiepking, P. (2011). Who gives? A literature review of predictors of charitable giving Part One: Religion, education, age and socialisation. Voluntary Sector Review, 2(3), 337-365.
Bleidorn, W., Stahlmann, A. G., Orth, U., Smillie, L. D., & Hopwood, C. J. (2025). Personality traits and traditional philanthropy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 129(2), 363–383.
Bock, D. E., Eastman, J. K., & Eastman, K. L. (2018). Encouraging consumer charitable behavior: The impact of charitable motivations, gratitude, and materialism. Journal of Business Ethics, 150(4), 1213–1228.
Chapman, C. M., Masser, B. M., & Louis, W. R. (2020). Identity motives in charitable giving: Explanations for charity preferences from a global donor survey. Psychology & Marketing, 37(9), 1277–1291.
Collett, J.L. & Morrissey, C. (2007). The social psychology of generosity: The state of current interdisciplinary research.
Dannenberg, A., Johansson‑Stenman, O., & Wetzel, H. (2022). Status for the good guys: An experiment on charitable giving.Economic Inquiry, 60(2), 721–740.
Dolińska, B., & Doliński, D. (2014). Fear‑then‑relief, legitimizing a paltry contribution, and charity. European Review of Applied Psychology, 64(1), 29–34.
Falk, A. (2007). Gift exchange in the field. Econometrica, 75(5), 1501–1511.
Galen L. W. (2012). Does religious belief promote prosociality? A critical examination. Psychological Bulletin, 138(5), 876–906.
Glanville, J. L., Paxton, P., & Wang, Y. (2016). Social capital and generosity: A multilevel analysis. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(3), 526–547.
Giving USA Foundation & Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. (2025). Giving USA 2025: The annual report on philanthropy for the year 2024. Giving USA Foundation. https://www.givingusa.org/
Gold, J. (2023). Nonprofit fundraising and social identity. Engaged Management ReView, 6(2), Article 1.
Guéguen, N. (2003). Fund‑raising on the web: The effect of an electronic door‑in‑the‑face technique on compliance to a request.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(2), 189–193.
Guéguen, N., & Jacob, C. (2001). Fund‑raising on the web: The effect of an electronic foot‑in‑the‑door on donation.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 4(6), 705–709.
Hutchinson‑Quillian, J., Reiley, D. H., & Samek, A. (2021). Hassle costs and workplace charitable giving: Field experiments with Google employees. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 191, 679–685.
ideas42 (2023). Behavior and charitable giving: 2023 update.
Mesch, D. J., Osili, U. O., Dale, E. J., Ackerman, J., Bergdoll, J., & O’Connor, H. A. (2021). Charitable Giving in Married Couples: Untangling the Effects of Education and Income on Spouses’ Giving. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 51(2), 444-458.
Moon, A., & VanEpps, E. M. (2023). Giving suggestions: Using quantity requests to increase donations. Journal of Consumer Research, 50(1), 190–210.
Olivola, C. Y., & Shafir, E. (2013). The martyrdom effect: When pain and effort increase prosocial contributions. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 26(1), 91–105.
Pfeiffer, B. E., Sundar, A., & Cao, E. (2023). The influence of language style (formal vs. colloquial) on the effectiveness of charitable appeals. Psychology & Marketing, 40, 542-553.
Piff, P. K., Kraus, M. W., Côté, S., Cheng, B. H., & Keltner, D. (2010). Having less, giving more: The influence of social class on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(5), 771–784.
Sasaki, S. (2019). Majority size and conformity behavior in charitable giving: Field evidence from a donation‑based crowdfunding platform in Japan. Journal of Economic Psychology, 70, 36–51.
Schulz, J. F., Thiemann, P., & Thöni, C. (2018). Nudging generosity: Choice architecture and cognitive factors in charitable giving. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 74, 139–145.
Sharps, D. L., & Schroeder, J. (2019). The preference for distributed helping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(5), 954–977.
Shearman, S. M., & Yoo, J. H. (2007). “Even a penny will help!”: Legitimization of paltry donation and social proof in soliciting donation to a charitable organization. Communication Research Reports, 24(4), 271–282.
Silver, I., & Small, D. A. (2024). Put your mouth where your money is: A field experiment encouraging donors to share about charity. Marketing Science, 43(2), 392–406.
The Next Generation of Philanthropy (2023). Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University.
van Kleef, G. A., & Lelieveld, G.-J. (2022). Moving the self and others to do good: The emotional underpinnings of prosocial behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 80–88.
van Teunenbroek, C., Bekkers, R., & Beersma, B. (2021). They ought to do it too: Understanding effects of social information on donation behavior and mood. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 18(2), 229–253.
Weisz, E., & Cikara, M. (2020). Merely increasing action options increases charitable donation [Preprint]. Research Square.
Whillans, A. V., Caruso, E. M., & Dunn, E. W. (2017). Both selfishness and selflessness start with the self: How wealth shapes responses to charitable appeals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 242–250.
Wiepking, P., & Bekkers, R. (2012). Who gives? A literature review of predictors of charitable giving. Part two: gender, marital status, income, and wealth. Voluntary Sector Review, 3(2), 217-245.
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Day | Date | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue | 8/25 | Syllabus | Introduction | |
| Thu | 8/27 | Collett & Morrissey (pp. 2-3) / Allen (pp. 8-28) | Overview of Generosity | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 9/1 | van Kleef & Lelieveld (9) / Allen (pp. 29-32) / ideas42 (pp. 10-12) | Emotions | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 9/3 | Allen (pp. 34-36) / Mesch (5) / Wiepking & Bekkers Part 2 (pp. 1-18) | Gender / Family Structure | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 9/8 | Bock et al. (8) / Chapman et al. (12) | Motives | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 9/10 | Bleidorn et al. (8) / Allen (pp. 40, 47-48) / ideas42 (pp. 7-10) / Gold (11) | Personality / Identity | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 9/15 | Site visit with Sight United for All | Site Visit Journal (due by 11:59pm on 9/20) | |
| Thu | 9/17 | Site visit with OCCHA | Site Visit Journal (due by 11:59pm on 9/20) | |
| Tue | 9/22 | The Next Generation of Philathropy (34) | Age | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 9/24 | Allen (pp. 36-40). / Bekkers & Wiepking Part 1 (pp. 1-13) / Galen (13) | Religion | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 9/29 | Whillans et al. (9) / Piff et al. (11) / Wiepking & Bekkers Part 2 (pp.19-26) | Wealth / SES | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 10/1 | ideas42 (pp. 2-4) / Allen (pp 42-43) / van Teunenbroek et al. (20) | Social Norms & Information | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 10/6 | Allen (pp 47-48) / Glanville et al. (16) | Social Network | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 10/8 | Allen (pp. 44-45) / Bateson et al. (2) / Silver & Small (14) | Reputation / Anonymity | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 10/13 | Group Work Day | ||
| Thu | 10/15 | Presentation I Practice | ||
| Tue | 10/20 | Client Presentation I | ||
| Thu | 10/22 | Allen (pp. 47-50) / Jenni et al. (8) | Recipient Characteristics | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 10/27 | ideas42 (pp. 17-18) / Pfeiffer et al. (9) / Moon et al. (18) | Framing the Ask | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 10/29 | Weisz & Cikara (4) / Sharps & Shroeder (8) / Schulz et al. (5) | Choice Architecture | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 11/3 | ideas42 (16-17) / Falk (10) / Dannenberg et al. (12) | Incentives | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 11/5 | ideas42 (pp. 14-15) / Reiley & Samek (7) / Olivola & Shafir (5) | Hassle Factors | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 11/10 | Shearman et al. (10) / Dolinska & Dolinski (5) | Paltry Contributions | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 11/12 | ideas42 (pp.5-7) / Allen (pp.22-23) / Anik et al. (3) / Sasaki (5) | Fundraising Schemes | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 11/17 | Gueguen & Jacob (5) / Gueguen (5) / Bekkers & Wiepking (pp.16-19) | Door in the Face / Foot in the Door | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 11/19 | Bekkers & Wiepking (pp. 19-20) / ideas42 (pp.12-14, 19-22) | Miscellaneous Considerations | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Tue | 11/24 | Millenial Impact Report / Giving USA Report | Current Trends | Reading Annotation / Quiz / Journal of App Ideas |
| Thu | 11/26 | No Class | ||
| Tue | 12/1 | Group Work Day | ||
| Thu | 12/3 | Presentation II Practice | ||
| Tue | 12/8 | Client Presentation II (3:15-5:00PM) | ||
| Thu | 12/10 | No Class |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.