Picturing Donations Dataset

About this dataset: This dataset was collected at Zoomarine Algarve in Portugal between 6/28/2019 and 9/26/2019 under the supervision of João Neves. We examined the role of images in conservation fundraising through a public experiment. We placed a donation box and a large informational poster in the lounge of the Dolphin Emotions program (a program of Zoomarine), which is open to participants and their families. The text on the poster, which solicited donations for the Marine Megafauna Foundation (a conservation partner), was held constant, while four different image conditions were tested: dolphins, ocean wildlife, children, and people staring out from the poster (i.e., “watching eyes”). The experiment ran for a total of 91 days between June 28 and September 26, 2019, although data were only collected for 87 days due to park closures on four days. Each poster condition was displayed for three days at a time and was on display for at least seven three-day periods during the experiment. Poster conditions were randomly assigned to different three-day periods over the course of the experiment (see Column A). Data were collected on the number of visitors who passed by the poster and the amount of donations placed in the box over each 3-day period (see Column B and Column C).