We proposed that although nudging may encourage participation, being nudged may undermine the intrinsic motivation of a donor's prosocial behavior in the eyes of an observer. In 3 studies spanning various contexts of prosocial nudging (Ns = 198, 141, and 267 university students,
respectively), we demonstrated that observers perceived a donor who was (vs. was not) nudged as less intrinsically motivated to help others. The findings suggested that the perceived motive of a donor's prosocial behavior is inferred by observers not only from the behavior itself but also
from whether or not the behavior is a product of nudging. By investigating the consequences of nudging from the observer's perspective, we have provided a new lens for understanding the role of nudging in the prosocial domain.
Conventional wisdom suggests that people are less likely to help when doing so involves a high cost. However, through five experiments, this work demonstrates that when a donor's prosocial action is perceived as costlier, observers are more likely to follow the donor and engage in the same prosocial behaviour (Study 1a, N = 154; Study 1b, N = 127). The effect cannot be attributed to observers’ original preferences for costly prosocial action itself (Study 2; N = 401). Rather, it occurs because when the prosocial action is costlier, observers are more likely to perceive the donor as more intrinsically motived, which, in turn, enhances the desirability of the prosocial action, leading to a higher likelihood that the observers would engage in the same action (Study 3; N = 250). We further show that this effect is attenuated when the donor clearly demonstrates her/his extrinsic motivation (Study 4; N = 149).
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