Just in time for Christmas, a group of psychologists has revealed the real facts about giving and receiving gifts. The group of researchers presented the hints about giving and getting gifts at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. The topics covered included what most people find troubling in finding the perfect gift.
For people who are considered to be picky when it comes to gifts, the researchers found that 39 percent of Black Friday shoppers had a picky person on their 2013 shopping list. Picky people produced less motivation on the part of gift givers to search for gifts. Picky folk were most likely to receive a gift card or nothing. The group of 7,466 Christmas shoppers indicates they prefer that the picky shop for themselves.
The researchers found that most people that receive gift cards for any type of store as a Christmas gift tend to overlook everyday items in favor of luxury gifts for themselves. This activity was particularly common in the pickiest of gift recipients. Gift card recipients felt they were spending money that belonged to someone else so they splurged.
Most people do not want personalized gifts. The reason is that personalized gifts focus on a single component of the recipient’s personality and overlook the variety of wants and desires that any given individual has. The top ten gift lists that are always produced at Christmas just do not fit the gift recipient’s expectations according to the researchers. Experience is preferred over material possession by the majority of gift recipient’s involved in the study.
