Guéguen Nicolas, Pascual Alexandre, Silone Fabien, David Mathieu
a Université de Bretagne-Sud.
b Université de Bordeaux 2.
J Soc Psychol. 2015;155(6):541-4. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2015.1032196. Epub 2015 Mar 26.
Earlier research reported that using pictures in a fundraising request increases donations by legitimizing the solicitation. The present study tested the effectiveness of a solicitation for money made in the street when an object that legitimated the request was present or not. Male confederates asked passersby for money to buy a stamp while either holding or not holding an envelope in one hand. With a high effect-size, it was reported that the presence of the envelope increased compliance with the request. The legitimation of the request associated with the presence of the envelope is used to explain the results.
