Reciprocity Decay
Open Access

Reciprocity Decay

Our desire to give back wanes rapidly with time

When you give, you expect others to return the favor. However, reciprocity has a a very narrow window and will quickly disappear, leading to lost opportunity.

Chuan, Kessler & Milkman (2018). Field study of charitable giving reveals that reciprocity decays over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study

Impact

The problem

Potential impact

The study

The studies

Setup

Setup

18,515 patients who had been admitted to a university hospital were subsequently mailed a request to donate to the hospital charity.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Results

Results

The researchers found that requests delayed by about 30 days after each patient’s visit reduced the donation rate by 30%, falling ever further as the delay increased.

Study graph

Setup

18,515 patients who had been admitted to a university hospital were subsequently mailed a request to donate to the hospital charity.

Results

The researchers found that requests delayed by about 30 days after each patient’s visit reduced the donation rate by 30%, falling ever further as the delay increased.

Study graph

Setup

Results

Study graph

Setup

Results

Study graph

Setup

Results

Study graph
np_read_2490885_000000

Jerome's Expert View

Key Takeaways

1
1

Timing is everything.

There is a ‘goldilocks’ window of time within which kind acts will most likely be reciprocated:

Not too quick: diners asked to review their experience when paying the bill should instead be prompted the next day and not at the table.

And not too slow: try recalling a meal you had 3 months ago…

Takeaway image
2
2

A small delay? Ask for less.

If you've waited too long for a reciprocal favor in return, make it easier. Provide a subtle reference to your past act of kindness, but instead of asking for a donation, ask for a share, perhaps combining with a Reward.

Takeaway image
3
3

A large delay? Start afresh.

Life goes on and we quickly forget others' kindness, so for extreme delays, expect no response.

Instead, create a Fresh Start with an easy re-entry to reciprocity: a new seasonal menu tasting invite for a restaurant, for instance. After the event, follow up with your request. It will likely be granted, such is our internal desire to rebalance things.

Takeaway image
4
4
Takeaway image
Takeaway image

Boundary conditions

No items found.

Future questions

No items found.
np_read_2490885_000000

Chuan, Kessler & Milkman (2018). Field study of charitable giving reveals that reciprocity decays over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Reciprocity Decay

Reciprocity Decay

Our desire to give back wanes rapidly with time

When you give, you expect others to return the favor. However, reciprocity has a a very narrow window and will quickly disappear, leading to lost opportunity.

The study

Setup

18,515 patients who had been admitted to a university hospital were subsequently mailed a request to donate to the hospital charity.

Results

The researchers found that requests delayed by about 30 days after each patient’s visit reduced the donation rate by 30%, falling ever further as the delay increased.

study graph

Chuan, Kessler & Milkman (2018). Field study of charitable giving reveals that reciprocity decays over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hungry for more?

Currently being sourced...
Nuggets

Snack on these...

Open access, foundational Nuggets

Scarcity

Scarcity

We value things more when they’re in limited supply

Social Proof

Social Proof

We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations

Prospect Theory

Prospect Theory

A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good

Reciprocity

Reciprocity

We’re hardwired to return kindness received

Framing

Framing

We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented

Loss Aversion

Loss Aversion

We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we get it

Self-Expression

Self-Expression

We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others

Default Effect

Default Effect

We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us

Priming

Priming

Our decisions are shaped by memories recalled from things just seen or heard

Anchoring

Anchoring

What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter

Connected to

All Nuggets, data & takeaways

Academic data

Key takeaways

Pairings

Cheat Sheets

Collect Nuggets

Nuggets In The Wild

Monthly Coglode Live calls

Hungry for more?

Savour all of Coglode Cookbook

Sign up
Launching 2025

Work directly with me

As the creator of Coglode, I'll be bringing all my behavioural tools to a small number of external projects next year.

Jerome Ribot

Coglode Founder

Enquire
© 2013-24 Coglode
Nuggets

Snack on these...

Open access, foundational Nuggets

Scarcity

Scarcity

We value things more when they’re in limited supply

Social Proof

Social Proof

We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations

Prospect Theory

Prospect Theory

A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good

Reciprocity

Reciprocity

We’re hardwired to return kindness received

Framing

Framing

We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented

Loss Aversion

Loss Aversion

We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we get it

Self-Expression

Self-Expression

We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others

Default Effect

Default Effect

We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us

Priming

Priming

Our decisions are shaped by memories recalled from things just seen or heard

Anchoring

Anchoring

What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter

What's Cooking?

New Pairing

A Monzo case study on saving refunds by default
A Monzo case study on saving refunds by default
This week

New Nugget

Refund Effect (2024)
Refund Effect (2024)
This week

Improvement

New Nugget 2.0 schematic
New Nugget 2.0 schematic
This week

New Nugget In The Wild

How Experian's CreditLock creates calm with well-designed control
How Experian's CreditLock creates calm with well-designed control
This week

New Cheat Sheet

New "Overcoming Status Quo" Cheat Sheet
New "Overcoming Status Quo" Cheat Sheet
This week

Improvement

Simplified navigation
Simplified navigation
This week

Improvement

After ten years, just who is behind Coglode?
After ten years, just who is behind Coglode?
This week

Feature

Interactive Defaults Tool released
Interactive Defaults Tool released
This week

Coglode Live

Defaults Live video and deck now available
Defaults Live video and deck now available
This week

Cure

Cancelling Amazon Prime - An interactive, behavioural remedy
Cancelling Amazon Prime - An interactive, behavioural remedy
This week

New Nugget In The Wild

How new browser Arc overcomes Status Quo bias with Boosts and Zaps
How new browser Arc overcomes Status Quo bias with Boosts and Zaps
This week

New Cheat Sheet

New "Overcoming Risk Aversion" Cheat Sheet
New "Overcoming Risk Aversion" Cheat Sheet
This week