When we examine society, its evils always stand out. Social evils often overshadow the good and neutrality present in society, causing immense misery worldwide. The abundance of darkness in the world still fails to prevail in its entirety because of the “empathetic” behaviours adopted by many that provide a spark of hope and light. These behaviours take many forms, but the most common is that of donations. Donations are essentially the act of supplying goods or money to aid a person or organisation without any apparent cost. Considered to be the truest form of empathy, but this assumption requires scrutiny.
Donations are celebrated and assumed to be the highest expression of humanity, kindness and empathy, but psychological motives and hidden agendas make it complicated. When every action has an equal and opposite reaction, wouldn’t the noble action of donating have one as well? The altruistic behaviour can have several reasons that need to be understood using the lens of psychology.
Read More: Altruism: Motivations Behind Kindness and Helping Behaviour
How are Donations Linked to Empathy?
The American Psychological Association Dictionary defines empathy as “understanding a person from their frame of reference rather than one’s own, or vicariously experiencing that person’s feelings, perceptions and thoughts” (APA Dictionary of Psychology, n.d.). Essentially, empathy can be understood as the phenomenon that makes it possible for individuals to understand and infer the emotional states of others without having experienced their emotions. A truly important skill to hone when dealing with human connections. However, empathy does not, in itself, encompass motivation.
An individual can be experiencing trying times, and empathy will equip others in their surroundings to understand their thoughts and emotions, but it will not motivate them to be of aid. Yet, in most cases, whenever an individual provides aid in the form of donations or altruistic behaviour, it is still considered to be an act of empathy. The phenomenon that links empathy with donations can adopt two pathways:
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1. Sympathy
Empathy allows an individual to “feel with another”, while sympathy allows one to “feel for another” (Malbois, 2022). It is essentially the knowledge of another’s suffering and sorrow that sparks concern and compassion in one, and eventually even motivates one to alleviate others of their stress (APA Dictionary of Psychology, n.d.). Sympathy can often grow out of empathy for another and even motivate an individual to engage in behaviours that will relieve one of their issues. While considered to be a noble act, it also helps an individual alleviate themself of some stress of their own.
Read More: Empathy vs Sympathy: Understanding the Difference
2. Empathy Altruism Hypothesis
Batson et al. (2014) suggested that empathy or empathetic concern could be a source of altruistic motivation, which leads to altruistic behaviours like donation. According to the empathy altruism hypothesis, empathic concern leads to feelings of compassion for others, suffering and ultimately leads to motivation to help another. However, it is important to understand that the motivation lies in the ultimate goal of increasing the other person’s well-being and not to benefit from it.
While both pathways suggest a similar relationship between empathy and altruistic behaviour, it also becomes clear that these two concepts rely greatly upon each other. Without empathy, altruistic motivations and behaviours would be misplaced and confused. On the other hand, without altruistic behaviour and motivations, empathy will only remain a fleeting feeling without any outcome.
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What else can cause Altruistic Behaviour?
Having understood the relationship between empathy and altruistic behaviours like donation, one would like to believe that donations are placed in empathetic motivations and selfless concern. However, that would not hold in a few cases, as suggested by psychological and evolutionary theories. According to literature, there can be a wide variety of reasons an individual will engage in altruistic behaviour, such as:
1. Reciprocal Altruism
Trivers (1971) suggested that reciprocal altruism is an evolutionary mechanism through which an individual engages in altruistic behaviour only to reap the benefits of the behaviour in the future. Essentially, according to this theory, the cost incurred by an individual for simply engaging in donations or other altruistic behaviour is returned in the future, which becomes the ultimate motivation to engage in such behaviours in the first place. According to evolutionary psychology, this also becomes a process through which social members can sustain for longer, as reciprocal altruism will aid in the increased well-being of all.
2. Social Influence
Fehr and Fischbacher (2003) suggested that people are more likely to engage in altruistic behaviour, such as donation, when they witness other people doing the same or are being watched by other people. Essentially, social influence and pure presence can significantly motivate an individual to behave in donation behaviours. If an individual were to witness their peers engage in altruistic behaviours, they would also be motivated to do the same. If an individual were being observed by others, they would also be more motivated to donate. Both these causes of altruistic behaviour are rooted in the idea of social desirability and can also explain public acts of donation, which have become increasingly common, such as fundraisers, online campaigns and drives.
Read More: Understanding Counter-Empathy: The Dark Side of Emotional Awareness
3. Religious and Moral Beliefs
Religious and moral beliefs play a powerful role in shaping charitable behaviours. In many religions and cultures across the world, donations are considered to be important parts of worship. It often even goes beyond concern and compassion, but rather as a moral obligation that one must fulfil. Donations and charity are moral behaviours.
4. Symbols of Social Status
Donations have also become a means for attracting attention and maintaining social status. Many affluent individuals engage in philanthropy as a means of maintaining their social status and garnering public admiration. Charity events have also become key in establishing influence and power within communities. Essentially, by engaging in such public displays of altruism, they create a generous and compassionate image of themselves, which can later be leveraged for personal gain.
5. Warm Glow Theory
Andreoni (1990) suggested that individuals can also engage in charitable behaviour for personal gains that are not egoistic in nature. According to the warm glow theory, when individuals behave in prosocial and altruistic behaviour, they experience a sense of satisfaction and pleasure, which can become a motivator to engage in such behaviour. While this is a cause that benefits an individual, personally, it only does so on a psychological and emotional level and is not associated with any future reward.
Conclusion
Donations and other altruistic behaviours are considered to be the ultimate act of empathy and kindness. While they help another individual without any cost, the ultimate motive behind it can hide a personal gain or reward for the individual who engaged in it. Psychology and evolutionary studies have examined such pro-social behaviours and concluded that altruism is a complex concept, which is influenced by several factors ranging from compassion and empathy to social influence and status. While academic discussions can aim to understand the reason behind pro-social behaviour, one must realise that donations and charitable behaviour of any motivation are beneficial to society.
FAQs
1. Are all donations based on empathy?
No, all donations are not based on empathy. Multiple factors can lead to altruistic behaviours, such as social influence, being observed or even egotistical motivations.
2. What emotions are linked to charitable behaviours?
Depending on the cause behind the charitable behaviour, an individual can experience several emotions as a result of such behaviour. However, if it’s based on empathy, it can give a person a sense of satisfaction and even alleviate their distress.
3. Why do I feel good when I engage in charity?
According to the warm glow theory, an individual feels a level of satisfaction when they engage in charitable behaviours. It usually takes place when such behaviours are aligned with an individual’s values and morals, allowing them to feel good about themselves and their actions when they engage in altruism.
References +
Andreoni, J. (1990). Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving. The Economic Journal, 100(401), 464–477. https://doi.org/10.2307/2234133https://www.jstor.org/stable/2234133
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.-a). https://dictionary.apa.org/empathy
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.-b). https://dictionary.apa.org/sympathyutm_source=link%20interno&utm_medium=referral&_ga=2.41945573.152455029.1585668989-1714508272.1583948542
Batson, D., Schroeder, D. A., Graziano, W. G., Lishner, D. A., & Stocks, E. L. (2014). The Empathy–Altruism hypothesis. In Oxford University Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195399813.013.023
donation. (2025). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/donation
Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2003). The nature of human altruism. Nature, 425(6960), 785–791. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02043
Malbois, E. (2022). What is Sympathy? Understanding the Structure of Other-Oriented Emotions. Emotion Review, 15(1), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739221140404
Trivers, R. L. (1971). The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 46(1), 35–57. https://doi.org/10.1086/406755
Why People Give: The Psychology and Triggers Behind Charitable Donations | N3O. (n.d.). https://www.n3o.ltd/post/why-people-give-the-psychology-and-triggers-behind-charitable-donations
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