Cited by 1,046Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesNonprofit Sector and VolunteeringNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations

Harbaugh, William T., Mayr, Ulrich, Burghart, Daniel R.·2007·Science

Abstract

Civil societies function because people pay taxes and make charitable contributions to provide public goods. One possible motive for charitable contributions, called “pure altruism,” is satisfied by increases in the public good no matter the source or intent. Another possible motive, “warm glow,” is only fulfilled by an individual's own voluntary donations. Consistent with pure altruism, we find that even mandatory, tax-like transfers to a charity elicit neural activity in areas linked to reward processing. Moreover, neural responses to the charity's financial gains predict voluntary giving. However, consistent with warm glow, neural activity further increases when people make transfers voluntarily. Both pure altruism and warm-glow motives appear to determine the hedonic consequences of financial transfers to the public good.

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.1140738

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  • Adolescents and adults show heightened activation in the ventral striatum to eudaimonic rewards, such as prosocial decisions to help family, friends, or charities.

    “Adolescents and adults also show heightened activation in the ventral striatum to eudaimonic rewards, such as prosocial decisions to help family, friends, or charities (22–27).”
  • Neurobiological variables have only rarely been used as predictors of individual differences in altruism.

    “and neurobiological variables have only rarely been used as predictors of individual differences in altruism (de Quervain et al., 2004;Harbaugh et al., 2007;Hare et al., 2010;Moll et al., 2006;Tricomi et al., 2010).”
  • Several studies link activity in the striatum with giving behavior, suggesting that striatum activity signals the benefits of giving.

    “Several studies link activity in the striatum with giving behavior, suggesting that striatum activity signals the benefits of giving 59–63.”
  • Ventral and dorsal striatum appear to signal a vicarious reward when other parties (i.e., a charity or another person) receive rewards, regardless of whether any enhanced reputation can be gained.

    “That is, ventral and dorsal striatum appear to signal a vicarious reward when other parties (i.e., a charity or another person) receive rewards, regardless of whether any enhanced reputation can be gained 60–63.”
  • People are more satisfied when their own free choice (i.e., donation) benefits a charity and they exhibit greater ventral striatum activity compared to when the charity benefits the same amount without the donator's choice.

    “However, people are more satisfied when their own free choice (i.e., donation) benefits a charity and they exhibit greater ventral striatum activity compared to when the charity benefits the same amount without the donator's choice 61, 64.”

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Authors
Harbaugh, W. T., Mayr, U., & Burghart, D. R.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
Corresponding author
  • Harbaugh, William T.
  • Mayr, Ulrich
Venue
Science
Published
2007-06-15
Volume
316
Issue
5831
Pages
1622-1625
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2017341863
Cited by
1,046
References
26
Citations by year
2026: 33 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 62 · 2018: 54 · 2017: 51 · 2016: 70 · 2015: 75 · 2014: 54 · 2013: 76 · 2012: 54
FWCI
119.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (R01 AG19296-01A1, R21AG030783)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
charitable giving, taxation, voluntary giving, pure altruism, warm glow, public goods, neural responses, reward processing, brain activity, civil society
MeSH terms
Altruism, Basal Ganglia, Cerebral Cortex, Charities, Choice Behavior, Female, Games, Experimental, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Motivation, Personal Satisfaction, Reward, Taxes, Gift Giving

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