Why Certain Gifts Are Great to Give but Not to Get

Abstract

We propose that many giver-recipient discrepancies in the gift-giving literature can be explained, at least partially, by the notion that when evaluating the quality of a gift, givers primarily focus on the moment of exchange, whereas recipients primarily focus on how valuable a gift will be once owned. In this review, we summarize the variety of errors givers make and, more critically, position these errors within our newly developed framework. We hope this framework will provide a single point of reference for those interested in gift giving and spur novel predictions about the causes and consequences of miscalibrated gift choice.