Person a donated money to a religious charity in order to boost her own feelings of self-esteem. person b failed to contribute to the same charity because he was fearful of running out of money. differences in their behavior are best explained in terms of

Social exchange theory

Explanation:

Social exchange theory is the theory that says that social behavior is the result of an exchange process.

According to this theory, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of their actions. When the risks outweigh the rewards, people will not engage in the action or conduct.

In this case, Person A donated money because the potential benefits included the boost of her self-esteem, since this weight too much to this person, she donated the money.

On the other side, the risks for Person B outweighed the rewards, since he was fearful or running out of money and therefore he did not donate it.