Do open hands (always) open wallets : the influence of gestures on generosity

Emerging research on embodied cognition (Glenberg 2010), exploresthe influence of the body on the mind. We contribute to this literature by examining the influence of hand gestures on generosity. Two recent studies provide evidence that generosity can be embodied in certain hand processes. Williams and Bargh (2008) found that participantswhose hands experienced physical warmth (vs. coldness) displayed higher generosity. Hung and Labroo (2011) demonstrated that participants who firmed their hand muscles were more likely tomake monetary donations to an earthquake relief appeal. However,hand firming did not affect the amount participants donated. To extendthis hand processes research, we focus on two gestures that aremetaphorically related to generosity: “open-hand” (which relates tothe idiom open-handed, or generous) and “tight-fist” (which relatesto tightfisted, or stingy). We hypothesize and demonstrate that holdingan “open-hand” (vs. “tight-fist”) gesture increases consumers’generosity and that this embodied generosity effect is moderated byconsumers’ idiom knowledge (study 1), gesture timing (study 2), andself-monitoring (study 2).