One of the major questions in social psychology is why people do - or do not - act prosocially.
Previous research however has assumed little risk to the help-giver and focused on
help-giving to individuals instead of to groups. This book addresses these two shortcomings in
three parts. The first part tests the mood-induced prosocial behavior pattern in the context of
morally courageous and risky behavior. The subsequent part embeds the theory of social conduct
in an organizational context. Attributions about the recipients of donations - responsibility
severity of the plight for example - influence donations. Finally the third part examines the
critical role of trust in the nonprofit organization and merges recipient-based characteristics
with organization-based characteristics as cues to determine an individual's willingness to
donate. The studies in this book suggest means to stimulate prosocial behavior such as moral
courage and charitable donation.
