Effects of picture and even-a-penny-will-help appeals on anonymous donations to charity

The present research explored the effectiveness of a picture and the phrase "even a penny will help" on contributions to charity. Two experiments were conducted, one in the laboratory and one in the field. Tn both experiments the manipulation of a pleasant picture and the phrase created four types o f signs: (1) picture-no phrase, (2) phrase-no picture, (3) picture-phrase, and (4) no picture-no phrase. In the field experiment patrons of local busi ness anonymously put money in a donation box that displayed one of the four signs. In the laboratory experiment, 129 undergraduate students were rando mly assigned to view one of the four signs placed on a donation box for a l ocal charity. Analyses for both studies showed that more money was donated when the boxes displayed pictures. The phrase "even a penny will help" had no significant effect on donations.