Search results

Identifying low-cost, effective methods to influence behavior is of keen interest to social marketers and others striving to bring about social change. Research on material primes (an object or a word present in the individual's environment) has received little interest from scientists. This field study conducted in France examined whether the presence of a religious symbol could influence the number of individuals who accepted an organ donation card. The study, conducted with 200 males and 200 females, examined the effect of the presence versus the absence of a Christian cross worn by a solicitor on participant's compliance to an organ donation request. The findings showed that participants exposed to a Christian cross worn by a solicitor complied more favorably with the request addressed by the solicitor. This effect was found among both male and female participants. The presence of the Christian cross could have acted as a prime that led in turn to the activation of further concepts associated with religion such as compassion, support or solidarity, which in turn led participants to accept the organ donation solicitation more favorably.

Research has shown that the statement "Even a penny will help" associated with charity fund-raising increases compliance. The present experiment analyzed the effectiveness of this technique using a novel solicitation and an intermediate delay between the statement and the actual execution of the request. Confederates solicited customers in a store for a food donation organized by food humanitarian organization. They wore a T-shirt on which the statement "Even a single package of pastas will help. . ." was either present or not. Results show that more people gave food products when this statement appeared on the T-shirt.

Some studies have shown that figurative cues, presented in the immediate environment of an individual, can affect his or her later behavior. This effect was applied in a fundraising context. In 12 bakeries, a pink opaque donation box was placed near the cash register with a message soliciting donations for a humanitarian project. The moneybox had a cardioids (heart-like) shape, a round shape, or a square shape. Results showed that more donations were found with the moneybox with the cardioids shape. The spreading activation theory is used to explain these results.

Cette contribution s'intéresse aux professionnels d'organisations différentes (mission de lutte contre le décrochage scolaire, Unis-Cité, missions locales) intervenant auprès de jeunes sortant sans diplôme de l'enseignement secondaire et « engagés » dans un service civique. Tous ces professionnels indiquent agir différemment en fonction de la logique propre à leur organisation d'appartenance. Toutefois, les caractéristiques des jeunes concernés et le champ des relations dans lequel ces professionnels se trouvent impliqués les conduisent à déroger à ces normes héritées de leur profession.