Although the majority of people value the idea of helping others, they often take no particular action. In two field studies we investigated the impact of differently justified requests for spontaneous charity donations and for antisocial behavior like stealing. In the experiments, unwatched stands with cookies and money jars were placed on a crowded city square with one of three different notes: (1) detailed prosocial justification, (2) general justification or (3) no justification. After testing almost 500 participants, we show that mere general arguments can both increase prosocial behavior and decrease antisocial behavior. Additionally, detailed prosocial justification augments generosity, causing people voluntarily to pay more than required. We conclude that prosocial (compliance with request) and antisocial (stealing) behavior is guided by automatic processes that track that there is any reason for the request, while generosity is guided by reflective assessment of the justification of the request.

In this paper, we consider how charity donations influence tax cheating decisions. Paying taxes is a legal requirement, and some taxpayers are reluctant to pay and search for actions aimed at reducing the amount of tax they pay. Donating money to charity not only allows benefit from the legal tax relief but can also lead to violation of moral and law standards. Engagement in moral acts might enhance individuals’ propensity to engage in subsequent immoral behavior by providing them with moral credits. Two experiments were conducted in which people donated to charity, and then decided whether to cheat on tax. Study 1 was based on an imaginary situation, while in Study 2 real-life monetary payments were introduced. The vast majority of the respondents in both studies (N=218) were taxpayers. Research demonstrated that donating to charity increased the tendency to underreport income (Study 1) and enhanced the tendency to apply for undue tax relief (Study 2). Therefore, within the context of taxation, donating to charity may be a double-edged sword in that it provides people with moral credits, making them feel entitled to cheat when paying taxes.