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Noncompliance with Persuasive Appeals for a Prosocial, Altruistic Act: Blood Donating 1
Author(s) -
Ferrari Joseph R.,
Leippe Michael R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1992.tb01523.x
Subject(s) - psychology , moral obligation , prosocial behavior , social psychology , obligation , denial , persuasion , political science , law , psychoanalysis
Effects of persuasive messages, responsibility denial (RD), and attitude‐accessing on blood‐giving attitudes, intentions, moral obligations, and behavior were examined. In Study 1, participants ( n = 84) who heard a message emphasizing moral reasons for donating indicated a more favorable postmessage attitude and stronger moral obligation to donate than participants exposed to a message aimed at reducing fear, a combined moral and fear‐ reduction message, or no message. Combined message participants showed greatest intent to donate, yet only 14% of all participants attended a campus drive. In Study 2, low ( n = 52) and high ( n = 60) RD individuals heard the message arguments and were asked to access their attitudes. Low compared to high RD individuals stated a stronger sense of moral obligation, particularly when they accessed their thoughts relevant to blood donating, and behavioral intention, especially in the combined message condition. Few participants attended a blood drive (12.5%), yet most were low RD individuals from the nonaccessed attitude condition (83%). Results suggest that few individuals will engage in the altruistic act of blood donating, despite the experimental use of persuasive messages and accessing issue‐relevant attitudes.