Dr Cassandra Chapman
Social Impact Research Hub Lead & ARC DECRA Principal Research Fellow
School of Business
Affiliate of Centre for Research in Social Psychology (CRiSP)
Centre for Research in Social Psychology
Affiliate of Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN) Research Centre
Social Identity and Groups Network
+61 7 334 68164
Room 314, Colin Clark Building (39), St. Lucia Campus
Researcher biography
Dr Cassandra Chapman has a PhD in the psychology of charitable giving. She is now an Associate Professor and ARC DECRA Fellow at The University of Queensland.
Cassandra came to academia after almost a decade working in nonprofits. Informed by this experience, her research focuses on donor psychology and fundraising. She uses diverse methods to understand when and why people are willing to help one another. These insights have implications for how charities communicate and raise money. Cassandra often works with nonprofits to design and deliver research. She also shares research insights for fundraisers on her website www.donorpsych.org.
Cassandra's research has won national and international research awards. Notable awards include the AFP Early Career Emerging Scholar Award(AFP, 2023), the Skystone Partners Prize for Research on Fundraising and Philanthropy (AFP, 2020), and the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for an Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research (ARNOVA, 2019). Cassandra has also published over 45 articles in leading international journals.She recently served as Associate Editor of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (2022-2025).
Publications
Book Chapters
Chapman, Cassandra M., Louis, Winnifred R., Masser, Barbara M. and Thomas, Emma F. (2023). Neglected fundraisers in the charitable triad. The Fundraising Reader. (pp. 463-470) London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003145936-100
Chapman, Cassandra M., Masser, Barbara M. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2023). The champion effect in peer-to-peer fundraising. The Fundraising Reader. (pp. 263-266) London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003145936-56
Louis, Winnifred R., Chonu, Gi K., Achia, Tulsi, Chapman, Cassandra M. and Rhee, Joshua (2018). Group norms and identities in societal transitions: from democracy to dictatorship and back again. The road to actualized democracy: a psychological exploration. (pp. 27-57) edited by Brady Wagoner, Ignacio Bresco de Luna and Vlad Glaveanu. Charlotte, NC, United States: IAP-Information Age Publishing.
Journal Articles
Chapman, Cassandra M., Thottam, Aakash K., Schultz, Tracy, McKay, Kate T. and Gulliver, Robyn (2025). Measuring charitable giving: how to capture charitable behavior in philanthropy research. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 08997640251351548. doi: 10.1177/08997640251351548
Chapman, Cassandra M. and Thai, Hannibal A. (2025). Incentivizing charitable giving: a systematic review of self- and other-benefiting incentives for donating money. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 08997640251348411. doi: 10.1177/08997640251348411
Elrose, Francine, Chapman, Cassandra M., Salisbury, Isaac S., Neary, Alexandra, Burgmann, Felicity and Sanderson, Penelope M. (2025). Portable display devices in healthcare: monocular head-worn displays increase perceptions of clinician warmth relative to tablet computers. Ergonomics, ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2025.2496323
Bekkers, Rene, Chapman, Cassandra M., Prosser, Annayah M. B., Wiepking, Pamala and Meyer, Michael (2025). Let us be Clear: Why and how to Demonstrate data and Methods Transparency in Nonprofit Research. Voluntas, 36 (4) e0225883, 1-10. doi: 10.1007/s11266-025-00736-0
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J., Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2025). Serving Three Masters: Thematic Analyses Reveal Inherent Ethical Tensions in Fundraising. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/08997640251323586
Chapman, Cassandra M., Spence, Jessica L., Hornsey, Matthew J. and Dixon, Lucas (2025). Social Identification and Charitable Giving: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/08997640251317403
Chapman, Cassandra M., Casey, James, Thottam, Aakash K. and France, Cassandra (2024). Interpersonal fundraising methods are associated with lower donation value over time. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53 (6), 1564-1582. doi: 10.1177/08997640241248029
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M., La Macchia, Stephen and Loakes, Jennifer (2024). Corporate apologies are effective because reform signals are weighted more heavily than culpability signals. Journal of Business Research, 177 114620. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114620
Thottam, Aakash K., Chapman, Cassandra M. and Leszczyc, Peter Popkowski (2024). Donors' self‐ and other‐oriented motives for selecting charitable causes. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 23 (4), 1859-1870. doi: 10.1002/cb.2313
Erlandsson, Arvid, Dickert, Stephan, Moche, Hajdi, Västfjäll, Daniel and Chapman, Cassandra (2024). Beneficiary effects in prosocial decision making: understanding unequal valuations of lives. European Review of Social Psychology, 35 (2), 293-340. doi: 10.1080/10463283.2023.2272238
Hampton, DeeAndria, Wiepking, Pamala, Chapman, Cassandra, McHugh, Lucy Holmes, Arnesen, Daniel, Carrigan, Cathie, Feit, Galia, Grönlund, Henrietta, Hrafnsdóttir, Steinunn, Ivanova, Natalya, Katz, Hagai, Kim, Sung‐Ju, Kristmundsson, Ómar H., Litofcenko, Julia, Mersianova, Irina, Neumayr, Michaela, Pessi, Anne Birgitta, Scaife, Wendy, Sivesind, Karl Henrik, Vamstad, Johan and Yang, Yongzheng (2023). Philanthropy during COVID‐19: Learnings and recommendations for philanthropic organizations navigating crisis. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, 29 (1) e1814, 1-7. doi: 10.1002/nvsm.1814
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J., Fielding, Kelly S. and Gulliver, Robyn (2023). International media coverage promotes donations to a climate disaster. Disasters, 47 (3), 725-744. doi: 10.1111/disa.12557
Gillespie, Nicole, Anesa, Mattia, Lizzio-Wilson, Morgana, Chapman, Cassandra, Healy, Karen and Hornsey, Matthew (2023). How do sector level factors influence trust violations in not-for-profit organizations? A multilevel model. Journal of Business Ethics, 191 (2), 373-398. doi: 10.1007/s10551-023-05429-6
Dixon, Lucas J., Hornsey, Matthew J., Hartley, Nicole, Chapman, Cassandra M. and Brienza, Justin P. (2023). The psychology of attraction to multi‐level marketing. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 57 (3), 1213-1235. doi: 10.1111/joca.12526
Chapman, Cassandra M., Dixon, Lucas, Wallin, Ann, Young, Tarli, Masser, Barbara M. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2023). We usually give like this: social norms describe typical charitable causes supported by group members. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53 (1), 089976402311604-53. doi: 10.1177/08997640231160467
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J., Gillespie, Nicole and Lockey, Steve (2022). Nonprofit scandals: A systematic review and conceptual framework. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 52 (1_suppl), 089976402211295-312S. doi: 10.1177/08997640221129541
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M., Fielding, Kelly S., Louis, Winnifred R. and Pearson, Samuel (2022). A political experiment may have extracted Australia from the climate wars. Nature Climate Change, 12 (8), 695-696. doi: 10.1038/s41558-022-01431-4
Chapman, Cassandra M., Louis, Winnifred R., Masser, Barbara M. and Thomas, Emma F. (2022). Charitable triad theory: how donors, beneficiaries, and fundraisers influence charitable giving. Psychology and Marketing, 39 (9), 1826-1848. doi: 10.1002/mar.21701
Chapman, Cassandra M., Louis, Winnifred R., Masser, Barbara M., Hornsey, Matthew J. and Broccatelli, Chiara (2022). Give where you live: a social network analysis of charitable donations reveals localized prosociality. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21 (5), 1106-1120. doi: 10.1002/cb.2058
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M. and Humphrey, Jacquelyn E. (2022). Climate skepticism decreases when the planet gets hotter and conservative support wanes. Global Environmental Change, 74 102492, 102492. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102492
Hornsey, Matthew J., Fielding, Kelly S., Harris, Emily A., Bain, Paul G., Grice, Tim and Chapman, Cassandra M. (2022). Protecting the planet or destroying the universe? Understanding reactions to space mining. Sustainability, 14 (7) 4119, 4119. doi: 10.3390/su14074119
Chapman, Cassandra M., Lizzio‐Wilson, Morgana, Mirnajafi, Zahra, Masser, Barbara M. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2022). Rage donations and mobilization: understanding the effects of advocacy on collective giving responses. British Journal of Social Psychology, 61 (3), 882-906. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12522
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J., Mangan, Heidi, Gillespie, Nicole, La Macchia, Stephen and Lockey, Steven (2021). Comparing the effectiveness of post-scandal apologies from nonprofit and commercial organizations: an extension of the moral disillusionment model. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 51 (6), 089976402110626-1280. doi: 10.1177/08997640211062666
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M. and Oelrichs, Dexter M. (2021). Ripple effects: can information about the collective impact of individual actions boost perceived efficacy about climate change?. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 97 104217, 104217. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104217
Young, Tarli, Pakenham, Kenneth I., Chapman, Cassandra M. and Edwards, Martin R (2021). Predictors of mental health in aid workers: meaning, resilience, and psychological flexibility as personal resources for increased wellbeing and reduced distress. Disasters, 46 (4), 974-1006. doi: 10.1111/disa.12517
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J. and Gillespie, Nicole (2021). To what extent is trust a prerequisite for charitable giving? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50 (6) 08997640211003250, 1274-1303. doi: 10.1177/08997640211003250
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M. and Oelrichs, Dexter M. (2021). Why it is so hard to teach people they can make a difference: climate change efficacy as a non-analytic form of reasoning. Thinking and Reasoning, 28 (3), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/13546783.2021.1893222
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M., Alvarez, Belen, Bentley, Sarah, Casara, Bruno Gabriel Salvador, Crimston, Charlie R., Ionescu, Octavia, Krug, Henning, Selvanathan, Hema Preya, Steffens, Niklas K. and Jetten, Jolanda (2021). To what extent are conspiracy theorists concerned for self versus others? A COVID‐19 test case. European Journal of Social Psychology, 51 (2) ejsp.2737, 285-293. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2737
Chapman, Cassandra M., Hornsey, Matthew J. and Gillespie, Nicole (2020). No global crisis of trust: a longitudinal and multinational examination of public trust in nonprofits. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50 (2), 089976402096222-457. doi: 10.1177/0899764020962221
Gulliver, Robyn, Chapman, Cassandra M., Solly, Kane N. and Schultz, Tracy (2020). Testing the impact of images in environmental campaigns. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 71 101468, 101468. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101468
Chapman, Cassandra M., Masser, Barbara M. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2020). Identity motives in charitable giving: explanations for charity preferences from a global donor survey. Psychology and Marketing, 37 (9) mar.21362, 1277-1291. doi: 10.1002/mar.21362
Hornsey, Matthew J., Chapman, Cassandra M., Mangan, Heidi, La Macchia, Stephen and Gillespie, Nicole (2020). The moral disillusionment model of organizational transgressions: ethical transgressions trigger more negative reactions from consumers when committed by nonprofits. Journal of Business Ethics, 172 (4), 653-671. doi: 10.1007/s10551-020-04492-7
Wibisono, Susilo, Mirnajafi, Zahra, Droogendyk, Lisa, Chapman, Cassandra M., Achia, Tulsi, Thomas, Emma F. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2019). Teaching and learning guide for intergroup prosociality. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13 (7) e12473, e12473. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12473
Louis, Winnifred R., Thomas, Emma, Chapman, Cassandra M., Achia, Tulsi, Wibisono, Susilo, Mirnajafi, Zahra and Droogendyk, Lisa (2019). Emerging research on intergroup prosociality: group members' charitable giving, positive contact, allyship, and solidarity with others. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13 (3) e12436, e12436. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12436
Petrovic, Katja, Chapman, Cassandra M. and Schofield, Timothy P. (2018). Religiosity and volunteering over time: religious service attendance is associated with the likelihood of volunteering, and religious importance with time spent volunteering. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13 (2), 136-146. doi: 10.1037/rel0000236
Chapman, Cassandra M., Louis, Winnifred R. and Masser, Barbara M. (2018). Identifying (our) donors: Toward a social psychological understanding of charity selection in Australia. Psychology & Marketing, 35 (12), 980-989. doi: 10.1002/mar.21150
Chapman, Cassandra M., Masser, Barbara M. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2018). The champion effect in peer-to-peer giving: successful campaigns highlight fundraisers more than causes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48 (3), 089976401880519-592. doi: 10.1177/0899764018805196
Nielsen, Rasmus Oestergaard, Chapman, Cassandra M., Louis, Winnifred R., Stovitz, Steven D., Mansournia, Mohammad Ali, Windt, Johann, Møller, Merete, Parner, Erik Thorlund, Hulme, Adam, Bertelsen, Michael Lejbach, Finch, Caroline F., Casals, Marti and Verhagen, Evert (2018). Seven sins when interpreting statistics in sports injury science. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52 (22), 1-3. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098524
Plows, Stefanie Elaine, Smith, Francine D., Smith, Joanne R., Chapman, Cassandra M., La Macchia, Stephen T. and Louis, Winnifred R. (2017). Healthy eating: a beneficial role for perceived norm conflict?. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47 (6), 295-304. doi: 10.1111/jasp.12430
Chapman, Cassandra M., Deane, Kelsey L., Harre, Niki, Courtney, Matthew G. R. and Moore, Julie (2017). Engagement and mentor support as drivers of social development in the project K youth development program. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46 (3), 644-655. doi: 10.1007/s10964-017-0640-5
Masser, B. M., Davison, T. E. and Chapman, C. M. (2017). How can we encourage our voluntary non-remunerated donors to donate more frequently?. ISBT Science Series, 12 (1), 112-118. doi: 10.1111/voxs.12312
Gray, Brendan, Ottesen, Geir, Bell, Jim, Chapman, Cassandra and Whiten, Jemma (2007). What are the essential capabilities of marketers? A comparative study of managers', academics' and students' perceptions. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 25 (3), 271-295. doi: 10.1108/02634500710747789
Conference Paper
Ahearn, Elizabeth-Rose, Stambe, Rose, Ablaza, Tin, Chapman, Cassandra and Parsell, Cameron (2023). Evaluation Accountability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Evaluation of Social Impact Evaluation. 52nd Annual ARNOVA Conference, Orlando, FL United States, 9-11 November 2023.
Research Report
Chapman, Cassandra M., Scaife, Wendy, Masser, Barbara M., Balczun, Marie and Holmes McHugh, Lucy (2021). Generosity in times of crisis: Australian helping behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generosity in Times of Crisis Indianapolis, IN, United States: Global Generosity Research.
Thesis
Chapman, Cassandra Margot (2019). Toward a triadic understanding of charitable giving: how donors, beneficiaries, fundraisers, and social contexts influence donation decisions. PhD Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2019.357