Past research offers conflicting findings on whether sadness-evoking charity appeals help
solicit a donation. To reconcile these findings, we introduce prospective donors' regulatory
focus as a moderator for understanding when and why sadness appeals motivate or
demotivate giving. Specifically, we propose that the sense of helplessness or loss of control
associated with sadness appeals increases donors' sensitivity to advertiser's manipulative
persuasion tactics, as those tactics can threaten donors' control over their donation decision …