The Psychology Of Giving (And Getting) | Science 2.0
The Psychology Of Giving (And Getting)
Today is the day when a whole lot of people will be exchanging gifts that don't fit or they don't want, and maybe buying something they did want.
It's the perfect time to think about gift exchanges. Gift exchanges can reveal how people think about others, what they value and enjoy, and how they build and maintain relationships. Researchers are exploring various aspects of gift-giving and receiving, such as how givers choose gifts, how gifts are used by recipients, and how gifts impact the relationship between givers and receivers.
Does anyone really 'give' any more? According to a recent poll, people are becoming increasingly selective about the items they want. Researchers Andong Cheng, Meg Meloy, and Evan Polman surveyed 7,466 Black Friday shoppers in 2013 and found that of the shoppers surveyed, 39% of the items they purchased were for individuals they considered "picky." While most of us may shop for a picky person in our lives, we know very little about how people cope with the challenge of shopping for a picky person.
In reality, all of us are picky. We don't want a movie, we want "Guardians of the Galaxy" or that DVD with The Great Ak in that show.
Cheng and colleagues confirmed that shoppers are less motivated, and likely to employ effort-reducing strategies when choosing gifts for people they believe to be picky. Gift givers are more likely to give gift cards, or forgo a gift altogether for a picky recipient.
According to Chan and Mogilner's research, the relationship improvements that recipients derive from experiential gifts stem from the emotion that is evoked when the gifts are consumed, not when the gifts are received. Giving experiential gifts is thus identified as a highly effective form of pro-social spending, and can have a greater impact on improving the relationship between the giver and receiver.
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