The term "ineffective altruism" refers to altruistic behavior that leads to a sub-optimal outcome with a given amount of resources.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is effective altruism? {{!}} Effective Altruism |url=https://www.effectivealtruism.org/articles/introduction-to-effective-altruism#faq |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=www.effectivealtruism.org |language=en}}</ref> For instance, an altruistic act can be effective if the use of a set of resources saves as many lives as possible.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":10" /> The term is unrelated to [[effective altruism]] as a movement, but has its origins in the ideal of effective altruism as a [[Normativity|normative framework]].
== The Paradox of Ineffective GivingAltruism ==
WeHumans are motivated to give, but not motivated to give effectively.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Burum |first=Bethany |last2=Nowak |first2=Martin A. |last3=Hoffman |first3=Moshe |date=December 2020 |title=An evolutionary explanation for ineffective altruism |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-00950-4 |journal=Nature Human Behaviour |language=en |volume=4 |issue=12 |pages=1245–1257 |doi=10.1038/s41562-020-00950-4 |issn=2397-3374}}</ref> In financialthe decision-makingdomain of business decisions, investors prioritizelook portfoliofor allocationhow decisionsmuch thatreturn they will get for each dollar they invest. Most people would maximizeagree theirthat return,getting the most value per dollar spent is a desirable and perfectly justifiable decision strategy. howeverHowever, when it comes to charitablethe domain of altruistic decision-making, this line of thinking is far less common.<ref>{{Citation |title=Heuristics and Biases in Charity |date=2011-01-19 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203865972-24 |work=The Science of Giving |pages=233–254 |access-date=2023-11-23 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-203-86597-2}}</ref> In fact, most donors seem to prioritize maximizinggiving charityto revenuescharitable overorganizations maximizingthat impactspend perthe unitleast possible amount on running costs in the hopes of moneyhaving more of their donation reach the donateddestination.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Joshua |last2=Small |first2=Deborah |date=2018 |editor-last=Gershoff |editor-first=Andrew |editor2-last=Kozinets |editor2-first=Robert |editor3-last=White |editor3-first=Tiffany |title=Ineffective Altruism: Giving Less When Donations Do More |url=https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/2412099/volumes/v46/NA-46 |journal=NA - Advances in Consumer Research |location=Duluth, Minnesota |publisher=Association for Consumer Research |volume=46 |pages=194-198}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Caviola |first=Lucius |last2=Faulmüller |first2=Nadira |last3=Everett |first3=Jim A. C. |last4=Savulescu |first4=Julian |last5=Kahane |first5=Guy |date=July 2014 |title=The evaluability bias in charitable giving: Saving administration costs or saving lives? |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1548669952/abstract/C867E1DED40D450EPQ/1 |journal=Judgment and Decision Making |language=English |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=303–315}}</ref> This dominant
