Loss of Significance and Charity Virtue Signaling: The Mediating Role of Susceptibility to Normative Interpersonal Influence

Charity virtue signaling (or conspicuous donation behaviour) is the public display of charitable acts, or support for causes, designed primarily to enhance one’s own social standing and reputation as a good person, rather than from a genuine, sole desire to help. It often involves visible actions like social media posting, sharing donation badges, or wearing ribbons, aiming to gain approval and appear morally aligned with popular ethics. Inspired by the Quest for Significance and Mattering Theory (Kruglanski et al. 2022) and the 3N (Needs, Narratives, Networks) Model of Extreme Behaviors (Kruglanski et al. 2019), this research aims to preliminarily and exploratively assess the extent to which the search for significance (need), operationalized in this research as loss of signaficance, a fundamental human motivation to be appreciated by others, to deserve respect and dignity, to "be someone" and to feel important, which underlies human social behavior (Kruglanski et al. 2022), is associated with conspicuous donation behaviour. Furthermore, consistent with the 3N model, we hypothesize that susceptibility to normative social influence (networks) plays a mediating role in the relationship between loss of significance and conspicuous donation behaviors. The results of a cross-sectional study conducted with Italian participants show, in line with the underlying hypotheses and theories, a positive and significant relationship between the constructs considered. Specifically, mediation analyses reveal both a direct effect of loss of significance on conspicuous donation behavior and an indirect effect, via susceptibility to normative social influence. More specifically, the results show that loss of significance positively and significantly predicts susceptibility to normative social influence, which, in turn, is positively and significantly associated with conspicuous donation behaviors aimed at achieving social status and, consequently, increasing one's sense of importance.