Perceived donation behavior and cooperation intention: The mediating role of motivation attribution and perceived hypocrisy

Individuals who participate in anonymous donations generally describe themselves as altruists when speaking of their donating. However, the inconsistency between words and deeds may lead to different cooperation intentions when perceived by others. This study examines the effect of perceived donation behavior (true goodness vs. hypocrisy; direct vs. indirect) on willingness to cooperate, where motivation attributions play a mediating role while perceived hypocrisy is not significant in predicting cooperation intention. The findings suggest that the effects of different perceived donation behaviors on willingness to cooperate differ significantly, and the effects of motivation attributions on cooperation intention are similar for the same type of perceived donation behavior (true goodness and hypocrisy). By comparing the four donation behavior situations, this paper provides practical insights into how people can reasonably engage in prosocial acts of kindness, such as donations in the Chinese cultural context, based on differences in their assessments of donor motivation, hypocrisy, and the strength of their willingness to cooperate.