Abstract
The identifiable victim effect (IVE) refers to individuals’ tendency to offer greater help to specific, identifiable victims than to anonymous, statistical victims. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall weighted effect of IVE. Overall, 41 studies were included. Results indicated an overall significant yet modest IVE (r = .05). In addition, findings showed that IVE appears reliable mainly when there is a single identified or a single unidentified victim, and/or when study characteristics include elements of the following: a photographed child suffering from poverty, bearing little responsibility for the need, and/or associated with monetary requests. The implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 199-215 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Social Influence |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2 Jul 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- helping
- Identifiable victim effect
- meta-analysis
- willingness to contribute