Person: Gerten, Judith

Psychology Today, 25.06.2021 | Michael Zürn, Judith Gerten & Sascha Topolinski

“If someone asked you for some help, would you provide it? In all probability, your answer would depend on a variety of factors […] a team of scientists at the University of Cologne examined an additional way to promote kind acts toward strangers, in this case, giving to charity. They call it the “maybe favor.” […] They found that people were more apt to agree to make a charitable donation when they knew that the donation might not actually go through. […] That being said, when it’s in proper, well-intentioned hands, the researchers are right in concluding that this approach also holds the potential to foster public-spirited acts of service that help others.”

C-SEB members Dr. Michael Zürn, Dr. Judith Gerten and Prof. Dr. Sascha Topolinski have experimentally investigated what influences the willingness …

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