Effect of mortality salience on charitable donations: Evidence from a national sample

Mortality salience refers to being reminded of death, which increases self-reported prosociality in student samples. Here, we examined effects of mortality salience on actual donations, in a national life-span sample (N = 5,376). In the mortality-salience (vs. control) condition, participants donated on average 25 cents more to charity, out of their $5 budget. This finding was unaffected by adult age or charity type, suggesting its generalizability. However, older adults donated more than younger adults. Auxiliary analyses suggested that fear of death was likely not the main mechanism underlying our findings. We discuss implications for literatures on mortality salience, aging, and charitable giving.