I am in search of a study (from a reputable source) that compares 
actions against words of individuals with respect to charitable
donations.  The simplified question is: Are people as generous with
their money as they claim to be?  I am most interested in an empirical
study of some
sort.

Note--In a previous Google Question it had been suggested to look into
IRS records for contribution-verification.  In my opinion, the types
of donations that are worthy of tax deductions are not the types that
I have in mind.  I'm more interested in smaller-scale generosity.  A
few bucks here, a twenty over there...spontaneous giving, versus
giving which is done as part of a tax reduction strategy.

For a little more background on this question, please see:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=773228

Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 20 Oct 2006 13:57 PDT

This is a whopper of a paper, and I haven't read it all, but I thought
it might be of some use to you:

http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/03/altruism.pdf

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Clarification of Question by madsyentist-ga on 20 Oct 2006 14:11 PDT

I haven't had a chance to look over the paper yet, but I wanted to
make a comment about something that Google Answers did...they removed
the question that I had earmarked for you!  It was the one that asked
about the history of Pinkfreud...why did they do that?

I'll let you know about the paper within in the next couple days.  Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 20 Oct 2006 15:41 PDT

Regarding the deletion of the question that you earmarked for me,
Researchers have been told not to answer any questions that ask
specifically about the operation of Google Answers. I believe that
might be the reason why the Editors deleted your question. This is
just speculation on my part; I hope the Editors will give you more
details by email.

---

Clarification of Question by madsyentist-ga on 20 Oct 2006 16:21 PDT

Pinkfreud, 

Thanks for the information regarding the deleted question.  Just out
of curiosity, will you be working on my other questions as well?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 20 Oct 2006 16:54 PDT

I haven't locked any of your questions, so they are open to all
Researchers. I am ill at the moment, and unable to work for very long
at a time, so I probably won't be taking on any complex projects for a
while.

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Clarification of Question by madsyentist-ga on 22 Oct 2006 21:51 PDT

The paper suggested by the Pinkfreud in conjunction with the source
cited by the commenter meet my needs for this question.  I would like
to now close it out.

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Question by madsyentist-ga on 22 Oct 2006 21:53 PDT

Pinkfreud, 

Do you have to do something in order to close out this question?

Thanks, 
Madsyentist

Thank you very much for accepting my suggestion as your official answer!

Regarding the Barna survey on tithing, this may be of interest:

"Tithing Is Rare

While many Christian churches teach the biblical principle of tithing
? that is, giving 10% of one?s income to the church ? relatively few
people follow the practice. One out of every six adults (17%) claims
to tithe, but a comparison of the amount that people gave to churches
and their household income revealed that just 6% actually donated
one-tenth of their income (pre-tax or post-tax) to churches. The level
of misreporting among born again Christians was just as prolific: 32%
reported tithing, yet only 12% actually did so in 2000."

The Barna Update: Churches Lose Financial Ground in 2000
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=91

Very best regards,
pinkfreud

I'd like to add that Pinkfreud was very patient with me as I developed
a question that he could actually answer.  And then he (I am assuming
he), went out of his way to clarify a comment that was made by a
third-party.  Thanks again.

Barna research (barna.org) has done a survey concerning tithers in
church: do people actually tithe as they say they do? They compare the
amount of people in a sample who say they tithe to the actual amount
of dollars that the churches in the same sample bring in from tithe.
The results are surprising. You can find the survey at the Barna
website. Go to the website, click on "Barna By Topic", then click on
"Stewardship". You will find an overview there, and I believe you can
get the complete survey results from them.

I don't know how you came across that information, but it is extremely
relevant to what I am looking to do.  Thanks!

Harmonydc, 

Regarding 'do people actually tithe as they say they do?'...did you
see the actual article on that topic?  Though I was able to find a
wealth of information at the site, I wasn't able to find the article
that dealt directly with the above statement.

Thanks.

madsyentist,

Thank you very much for the kind words, the five stars, and the generous tip! 

~pinkfreud