Identifiable Victim Effect

We are more generous to an identified victim than statistical masses. A single victim makes the situation real and vivid in our minds. In contrast, when victim numbers grow large, we fail to comprehend them emotionally which increases apathy. Big numbers and statistics might also make us feel that our donation is just a drop in the ocean.

Example

The photo of Aylan Kurdi, the 3 year old Syrian boy, was the one that prompted huge donations, not the reports/images of many suffering.

Fundraising opportunity

In your appeals avoid emphasizing the scale of the problem or the number of sufferers. Instead, use an identifiable victim in need to bring your cause to life.

Small, D. A., Loewenstein, G., & Slovic, P. (2007). Sympathy and callousness: The impact of deliberative thought on donations to identifiable and statistical victims.

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