To give, or not to give

The concept of “choice architecture” signifies that decisions are not made in a vacuum. Specifically, the manner in which a choice is framed has an impact on decision-making. Past literature has categorized the same into two branches – defaults and active choosing. In the present study, one sub-branch of defaults, the opt-in frame is compared to active choosing, since existing literature presents contradictory results on which one of the two exerts a greater influence on decision-making. In testing the difference through amounts donated to UNICEF in a dictator game, results from an experiment conducted India and a follow-up in the Eurozone show that there is not enough evidence to establish a difference between opt-in and active choice. Secondly, results from the India sample showcase that information plays an important role in contributing to a charitable cause. Overall, the results emphasize the need for exploring the influence of opt-in and active choice in more contexts, and to further exploit the role of information in sharpening the difference between the two.