Conspicuous altruism-publicly displaying one's good deeds-has the potential to inspire further prosocial actions and facilitate the diffusion of altruism. Yet individuals often face a "display dilemma": they wish to spread good deeds to encourage others, but fear their motives may be questioned. To address this paradox, we propose group-framed conspicuous altruism as a nudging strategy. Group framing situates altruistic acts within a collective context (e.g., presenting multiple participants in photos, certificates, or social media posts), shifting the focus from the individual to the group. This framing provides a more legitimate external attribution, reduces the psychological burden of self-display, and enhances group identity and perceived social impact, thereby increasing willingness to share altruism.
We conducted five studies (N = 1,396), including two field studies and three online experiments, across diverse contexts such as public service messages, blood donation, teaching support, charity hiking, and online donations. Field studies demonstrated that group framing increased both willingness to display and actual prosocial displays. Online experiments further confirmed its effectiveness regardless of whether altruistic acts were performed individually or collectively. Mediation analyses revealed that group framing operates by strengthening impression management motivation, which in turn promotes conspicuous altruism.
This research extends the application of nudge theory to the diffusion of altruistic behavior and provides a practical strategy to alleviate the conspicuous altruism dilemma. As a low-cost and easily implementable intervention, group framing does not alter altruistic acts themselves but adjusts how they are presented. These findings offer valuable implications for nonprofits, charities, and social marketing, helping to design more effective strategies to amplify the societal impact of altruism.