The Relationship Between the Valence and Arousal of Emotions and the Decision-Making on Donations

Donor emotions are one of the main factors that influence donation decisions. In this study, we examine the relationship between the valence and arousal of emotions with the size of the donation in favor of homeless dogs. In laboratory conditions, an experiment was conducted to collect donations, during which the emotional reaction of donors to photos of pets was measured. Emotion assessment was carried out using the method of self-reporting of emotions, the skin conductive response method (SCR), heart rate (HR) and electromyography (EMG) of the facial muscles (zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii). To verify the results of the laboratory version of the experiment and reduce the influence of the social desirability effect, an online experiment, which completely repeated the laboratory version with the exception of the collection of physiological data, was conducted. In the course of the study, it was shown that the emotional valence of the image is related to the size of the donation - negative affects cause a larger donation than positive or neutral ones. This was confirmed by corrugator EMG data, as well as self-report of emotions in laboratory and online conditions. The size of the donation also increased as the arousal of emotions increased, which was shown using self-reporting of emotions and SCR data in the laboratory. Zygomaticus EMG and heart rate during the perception of photos were not related to donations.