Cause and Effect Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cause and Effect - Research Paper Example The causes of advertising for blood donations in the past thirty years are the high demand for blood, the need to strengthen civic engagement beliefs, the reinforcement of social norms, and the effectiveness in appealing to different donor motivations, while the effects of advertising for blood donation differ, depending on the kind of motivations used, although studies showed that the most effective blood donation advertisements are those that appeal to altruism and social norms. Two of the contributing causes of advertising for blood donation are the high demand for blood and the improvement of civic engagement. The American Red Cross reported that only five percent of the eligible population donates blood, when it is estimated that almost 95 percent of all Americans will need blood in their lifetime (Windley, 2006, p.1). In her dissertation â€Å"Young Blood: Persuading Young People to Give Blood By Applying Concepts of Self-Perception and Social Norms Theories To Recruitment Ads,† Windley (2006) stressed that many first-time donors do not come back as repeat donors, especially when they are motivated initially through pressure from their family and friends. Misje et al. (2005), in their journal article â€Å"Motivation, Recruitment and Retention Of Voluntary Non-Remunerated Blood Donors: A Survey-Based Questionnaire Study,† noted from their review of literature that social pressure is not enough to sustain repeated blood donations (p.236). T hese sources agreed that social pressures are not sustainable forces in the voluntary blood donation settings, and they indicated the importance of advertisements in attracting blood donors. Local and international health organizations are then beefing up the call for blood donation through different marketing campaigns. Aside from the demand for blood supply, declining sentiments of civic engagement also drives advertisements that recruit blood donors, based on the study of Windley (2006). Different generations