Psychological barriers to effective altruism

In general, humans are motivated to do good things in the world, whether that is through donations to charity, volunteering time for a cause, or just lending a hand to someone who needs help.

[3] Most donors seem to prioritize giving to charitable organizations that spend the least possible amount on running costs in the hopes of having more of their donation reach the destination.

Past research suggests that altruistic motives are distorted by, among other things, parochialism, status seeking and conformity.

[4][13] While cost-effectiveness information of charities tends to be hard to evaluate,[18][19] studies have shown that people are less scope insensitive when the beneficiaries are family members.

[13][4] This parochial inclination can hinder effective altruism, especially as a significant portion of human suffering occurs in distant regions.

[19][22] Despite the potential impact of donations in different parts of the world, individuals in rich and developed countries often view assistance to physically distant others as less important than helping those in close proximity.

[4][29] Evidence-based reasoning in charitable giving may be perceived negatively, as amoral, and so will reduce a person's likability.

[30] Some have even argued that the reputational costs incurred for engaging in effective giving explain people's aversion to prioritizing some causes over more impactful ones.

[13] As a result, people rely more strongly on their intuitions[35] which lead them to choosing to give ineffectively simply because they know that most others would do the same thing.

[9] Commonly, people believe charity to be a subjective decision which should not be motivated by numbers, but by care for the cause given the lack of responsibility attributed to the effects of donations.

[38] For instance, many donors in WEIRD countries tend to favor charities that conduct work within their respective geographical boundaries.

[39][40] The idea of temporal proximity relates to people's tendency to prefer helping current generations over future ones.

[44] Donors are averse to giving to charities that devote a lot of their expenses to administration[45] or running costs.

[46] In a similar vein, happiness economists have developed the concept of wellbeing-years (WELLBYs) which evaluates effectiveness in terms of life-years lived up to full life satisfaction.