The mere presence of a pair of eyes on a sign requesting donations makes people more likely to give more. This is according to a field study in Springer’s journal Human Nature. Lead author Caroline Kelsey of the University of Virginia in the US says the findings support the idea that people tend to act according to pro-social norms when they sense that they are being watched. It also suggests that eyes play a special role in promoting cooperation in humans.
The mere presence of a pair of eyes on a sign requesting donations makes people more likely to give more. This is according to a field study in Springer’s journal Human Nature. Lead author Caroline Kelsey of the University of Virginia in the US says the findings support the idea that people tend to act according to pro-social norms when they sense that they are being watched. It also suggests that eyes play a special role in promoting cooperation in humans.
Most people are cooperative beings who willingly share their resources with others outside of their immediate circle. According to Kelsey, this high level of generosity is in part maintained by reputational forces and through reputational management, which allow people to score “brownie points” when they are seen carrying out positive actions. Some studies have shown that people tend to behave more pro-socially and generously when they are being watched by others, or even when they are simply exposed to an image of eyes, which is known as the “watching eyes” effect.
To extend current knowledge in this area, the research team set up a field experiment within the real-life setting of a children’s museum. Kelsey and her colleagues collected data from more than 34,100 adults and children who visited the museum over 28 weeks.
All participants passed the same permanent, transparent donation box situated at the check-in desk of the museum. The regular plain sign on the donation box read: “Donations would be appreciated”. During the weeks of data collection, this sign was randomly replaced by one of four signs that contained the same wording, but also pictured either pairs of noses, eyes, ears or chairs.
Read more at Springer
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