Experiential Gift Appreciation

Experiential Gift Appreciation

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

The finding that gifts involving time and effort draw less suspicion about the giver's motives and are appreciated more than large visible expenditures.

What it is

Mutluoglu, Ashworth and Robitaille reported four studies in which large gift expenditures made recipients suspicious and lowered appreciation.

In effect

The article on spending more at Christmas uses it as a place to put effort in place of money.

What it does not say

The studies compare large visible spending with gifts of time and effort. They do not say that expensive gifts are always resented, or that every experience makes a better gift than an object.

Sources

  1. Mutluoglu, A., Ashworth, L., & Robitaille, N. (2024). Looking a gift horse in the mouth: Suspicion of large gift expenditures undermines gift appreciation. Psychology & Marketing, 41(6), 1333-1345.