Attire and charitable behavior

College students walking in the hallways of their school were asked by three female confederates to donate money into a canister to benefit a national charity. Confederates were dressed in “preppy” attire for half of the trials and in “messy” attire for the remaining trials. Each confederate approached 60 subjects (30 under each condition of dress) to request donations. Analysis indicated that the requester's attire significantly affected giving. Both male and female subjects were more likely to donate when the confederate was well-dressed. These findings support and extend earlier data with adults and with nonaltruistic requests; implications for charitable endeavors are drawn. Suggestions for research are also provided.