Prosocial Appetite and Identity Signaling: Crowdfunding Behavioural Experiment Dataset

The dataset comprises evidence from three sequential randomized experiments conducted with a total of 901 U.S.-based participants who all had prior investment experience, ensuring relevance to real-world crowdfunding decision-making. Study 1 (n = 199) employed a 2×2 design manipulating entrepreneur sexual identity (LGBTQ vs. control) and investor political ideology (liberal vs. conservative). Study 2 (n = 252) replicated the identity manipulation with a new product context and used a continuous, multi-item measure of ideology (SECS). Study 3 (n = 450) added a second experimental factor—venture type (commercial vs. prosocial)—resulting in a 2×2 design with political ideology measured. Across all studies, participants evaluated a standardized crowdfunding pitch and provided judgments on organizational legitimacy, investment likelihood, and theoretically relevant controls.
Each study includes harmonized variables enabling both within-study and cross-study comparison. Key variables include manipulated identity cues, prosocial framing, political ideology, perceived legitimacy (measured through well-established scales), and investment likelihood using an incentive-compatible method. Additional controls include trust, attitude toward the entrepreneur, identification, and underdog perceptions.
The dataset therefore captures a robust set of cognitive, evaluative, and attitudinal responses, allowing for rigorous testing of the proposed mechanisms—particularly the conditional and interactive effects underlying prosocial appetite depletion.