Introduction
Giving great Christmas gifts is a tough task. However, researchers have discovered some helpful tips, such as being bold in giving something meaningful or giving up the “aha” moment when opening the gift in favor of something that provides joy for a longer time.
Common Mistakes in Gift Giving
When researcher Julian Givi started this area of study, he assumed that gift givers were driven by a desire to please the recipients. But he soon discovered that people often give gifts that fulfill their own personal desires — whether those desires are for uniqueness, social approval, or a funny joke — rather than the desires of the recipients. Therefore, people would be much better at giving gifts if they could shed their personal egos. Givi and his colleagues reviewed research related to gift giving in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in July.
Experiential Gifts
Some research suggests that we don’t give experiential gifts as frequently as recipients would like. Other studies indicate that most of the time people give material gifts, but experiences actually make people happier than material gifts. This is true in the consumer world in general. This phenomenon is called the “experiential advantage.” Results also indicate that experiential gifts bring recipients closer to the givers than material items.
Avoid New and Novel Gifts
Those giving gifts tend to focus on the “aha” moment, the moment the gift is unwrapped. While recipients focus on long-term utility. Research suggests that people misjudge how much they value surprise. Recipients actually prefer things they ask for more. For example, a new chocolate fountain is one of the examples that makes a lot of sense. But think about how often it would be used throughout the year. Whereas if someone gives them a coffee maker, they would be happy.
General Tips for Gift Giving
There are many rules in gift giving. For example, we don’t want to give something used. But to recipients, if that used item is what they want, that’s fine. Another example is gift wrapping. For instance, if we have $50 to spend, we can either spend $40 on the gift and $10 on wrapping or we can spend $50 on the gift and nothing on wrapping. We tend to choose the better wrapping. While recipients prefer to have the $10 included in the gift. However, the rule states that the gift should be beautifully wrapped.
Dealing with Difficult Recipients
I don’t have an answer when it comes to difficult people. My understanding of this research is that researchers have studied how gift givers behave when dealing with difficult recipients. But they don’t necessarily get the perspective of the recipients. It can be hard to get a group of difficult people to participate in the study.
Conclusion
In the end, people can be better at gift giving if they can cast aside their personal egos and focus on the wishes of the recipients. Research in this area can help guide people in avoiding common mistakes in gift giving and enhancing positive gift experiences.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/give-a-good-gift-science
Leave a Reply