Human Nature of Giving

The act of giving is a considerably vital part of human nature that contributes to the change of the world in a positive dimension. In this regard, the society expects the rich to give more than exactly what they give as they consider them to have significant amounts of wealth, more than what they really need. This implies that there are forces, which trigger individuals not to give as expected. Under this event, we adopt the psychological factors that influence people’s behaviors since giving correlates with the personality of an individual. Repeatedly, there is human tendency to favor their own needs thus contributing to the minimal efforts directed towards giving. As a result, selfishness and altruism are intertwining personalities among donors that lead to the minimal level of giving.

During the act of giving, multiple psychological factors influence the level of contributions. Initially, the identifiable victim is a crucial component that influences the givers. In the event of giving, people would have more attached feelings when the individual of concern is popular and in most cases single. In such a situation, people would be generous and give large amounts willingly. On the contrary, when the subject of concern is a huge mass, people become reluctant to give with the consent that their contribution would not be meaningful. This implies that despite the severity of the condition of the subject, people would lose the psyche to give more.

When people are giving, parochialism creates some impact to the level of contribution. Parochialism refers to the proximity and nature of relationship that exist between the contributor and the victims. In this case, when the affected individuals requiring assistance are close and people have knowledge about them, the level of contributions would be high. However, in a scenario where the subjects involved are far and entail a huge mass, people would be less willing to give since their disasters do not cause discomfort in their lives. As a result, the level of contribution would be low.

Futility is another critical component that affects the level of giving. Depending on the number of victims that a certain phenomenon affects, people tend to attribute a futile condition to a risk that affects a large portion. In this regard, people would be willing to give more donations, resulting in huge contributions. On the other hand, when the number of the affected population is less, people would be hesitant to contribute. The notion that their contribution would make little impact contributes in this regard. Thus, it results in low contribution.

With the diffusion of responsibility, people’s level of contribution is affected. When people feel that they have no control of certain situations affecting the victim, they become averse to giving. As a result, there will be fewer contributions. Nevertheless, when the contributing individuals have a sense of responsibility over the victims, their level of contributions would be high. Thus, their involvement leads to huge contributions.

Since the act of giving is a collective responsibility, it implies that people incorporate a sense of fairness in the process. In this regard, people would not like to handle the whole matter singly. Therefore, the consent that one is giving more than the expected fair share affects the level of giving. In this event, individuals with the urge to contribute more would be affected by understanding that despite their willingness to contribute more, there exist individuals who have more than they do, but contributes less. Generally, the level of contribution would be less, and this will significantly affect the will to give more.

The materials contributed during acts of giving influence the level of contribution. In this regard, most of forms of giving entail the offering of money. Since money becomes the only feasible way of assisting the victims, those willing to help lose the morale since their contributions may not reach the intended party. Based on this analysis, people tend to disregard the concept of giving out money as this reduces the nobleness in human relationship. This implies that money acts as means of separation among the donators and the victims.

The psychological factors analyzed above demonstrate some of the means through which the act of giving more is affected. Nevertheless, it is human responsibility by moral necessity to give to the distant poor. Through this process, the poor can be assisted and their lives changed enhancing equality and cohesion in the society. In this regard, the process of contributing to a single indentified victim would not serve the need to contribute to the society. Thus, people should consider contributing to the poor no matter whether there is identified victim or size of the victims.

After understanding some of the psychological factors that influence the level of contribution, it is essential to establish means of enhancing it. Some of the methods adopted include influencing the behavior of the donator to create some close relationship with the victims. Additionally, most methods entail exposing the victims to the same environment to which they can contribute.  

The act of giving in the open, influence the level of contribution of individuals. Since the sense of fairness during giving affects individuals, they contribute lowly in response to their colleagues when they contribute low amounts. In this case, when individuals contribute and their contribution is revealed, the level of contribution tends to increase. Thus, it implies that individuals contribute based on how their colleges contribute. In this regard, individuals will give more or less based on how other individuals contribute. This implies that the environment surrounding the contribution plays a critical role concerning the level of contribution. In this regard, to enhance the contribution, giving should occur in open forums where the contributions are announced.  

The nature of the relationship that exists between the donator and the beneficiary of the contribution influence the level of contribution. With a clearly outlined relationship between the donator and the beneficiary, the donator will always feel an obligation to the victim that he or she supports. In this consideration, the victims are identified and the donator undertakes the responsibility placed on him or her with pity based on the victims’ conditions. As a result, the donators who value giving based on the identified victim should be linked with a particular victim whom they can support.

In the process of boosting the level of contribution, it is essential to establish the appropriate kind of nudge of the contributors. In this regard, it is necessary to understand the human behaviors that influence them to contribute and their level of contribution. This approach could involve the use of influential organizations to change the perceptions of donors and improve the level of contribution. In this case, the manner to which dissemination of information of donation is attained influence the level of contribution.  

In the attempt to create influence on the level of contribution, it is essential to challenge the issue of self-interest among the donors. Through this effort, people can realize the benefits of assisting the poor and attempt ways of giving their best portions without any undue pressurization or enticement of any form whatsoever. Additionally, people would not hold back on occasions of giving based on their material wealth, but would contribute due to the need to assist in the society. As a result, the level of giving would considerably improve.