Public support for Haitian earthquake victims: Role of attributions and emotions

This research examines the public's support for Haiti relief efforts after the earthquake in 2010 based on Weiner's (1995) attribution model. The causes of the destruction in Haiti were explained differently in two types of attribution messages: the controllable attribution message (faulty construction despite earthquake warnings) and the uncontrollable attributions message (the depth of the earthquake's epicenter and its proximity to Port-au-Prince, the capital). Compared with the controllable attribution message, the uncontrollable attribution message increased the public's willingness to support the victims of the Haiti earthquake, directly through personal donations and indirectly through corporate donations. Emotions such as sympathy and pity also predicted support, although emotions did not mediate the relationship between attributions and support.