I’m not sure your #1 is really an instance of the conjunction fallacy (which is having a higher credence in a conjunction—BANK TELLER & FEMINIST—than in a single conjunct—BANK TELLER...). I might call it the “Outsourcing Fallacy”: the belief that it’s always better go meta and get someone else to do first-order work (here, donation). Obviously that’s not true, though: if it costs me $5 to get each of two people to donate $1, I should have just avoided the exercise and gone first-order.
There are well-understood explanations for when and why people fall victim to the conjunction fallacy. Why do people engage in the outsourcing fallacy? A simple answer: doing so gives me evidence that my influence over other is greater than it is, which is good for my ego?
I’m not sure your #1 is really an instance of the conjunction fallacy (which is having a higher credence in a conjunction—BANK TELLER & FEMINIST—than in a single conjunct—BANK TELLER...). I might call it the “Outsourcing Fallacy”: the belief that it’s always better go meta and get someone else to do first-order work (here, donation). Obviously that’s not true, though: if it costs me $5 to get each of two people to donate $1, I should have just avoided the exercise and gone first-order.
There are well-understood explanations for when and why people fall victim to the conjunction fallacy. Why do people engage in the outsourcing fallacy? A simple answer: doing so gives me evidence that my influence over other is greater than it is, which is good for my ego?