EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: “Even a Single Package of Pastas Will Help . . .”: The Effectiveness of the Legitimizing Paltry Contribution Technique on Altruism

Abstract

Research has shown that the statement “Even a penny will help” associated with charity fund-raising increases compliance. The present experiment analyzed the effectiveness of this technique using a novel solicitation and an intermediate delay between the statement and the actual execution of the request. Confederates solicited customers in a store for a food donation organized by food humanitarian organization. They wore a T-shirt on which the statement “Even a single package of pastas will help. . .” was either present or not. Results show that more people gave food products when this statement appeared on the T-shirt.