They say looks can be tricking. In the case of present offering, they might be.
Consumers in the U.S. spend billions of dollars a year on covering gifts, most of the times to make their presents look as excellent as possible. This consists of cash invested in paper, boxes, ribbon and quite bows.
The function was to make sure that we were giving half of the students a preferable present, while the other half got something they did not desire.
Careless wrapping, on the other hand, sets low expectations, recommending itll be a bad gift.
At random, participants viewed images and imagined receiving either a nicely or sloppily wrapped gift. When it came from a close good friend, receivers ended up liking the sloppily covered gift more, simply like in our other experiments. When the gift came from an acquaintance, recipients chose it when it was neatly wrapped.
While some individuals are especially proficient at gift wrapping– with the perfect folds, thoroughly tied ribbons and bows– others arent quite cut out for it, and obviously would prefer washing dishes or cleaning the home.
Two coworkers and I wondered whether all that time and effort is actually worth it. Does a lovely presentation actually cause a better-liked present? Or is it the other way around?
Americans spend a lot of cash on gift covering products.
Neat versus careless
In a 2019 paper published by the Journal of Consumer Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno teachers Jessica Rixom and Brett Rixom and I carried out 3 experiments to explore the impact of present wrapping.
In the first experiment, we hired 180 university students to come to a behavioral lab in Miami to participate in a research study explained as an extra credit exercise. Upon arrival, each student was offered a real present as a token of gratitude for their participation.
The gift was a coffee mug with the logo design of one of two NBA basketball groups, the regional Miami Heat or rival Orlando Magic, distributed at random. We knew that every participant was a fan of the Heat based upon a prior survey– and that they clearly didnt support the Magic. The purpose was to make sure that we were giving half of the students a preferable gift, while the other half got something they did not want.
Finally, half of the gifts were covered neatly, while the rest looked slapdash.
After unwrapping, individuals assessed just how much they liked their presents. We discovered that those who got a sloppily covered present liked their present significantly more than those who got a nicely covered present– despite which mug they got.
Which one would you prefer? Credit: Erick M. Mas
Managing expectations
To understand why, we recruited another set of trainees and asked them to view a picture of either a neatly or sloppily wrapped gift and report their expectations about it prior to seeing what was inside.
Participants were then told to think of opening the present– which for everybody was a pair of JVC earbuds– and rate their actual mindsets toward it, enabling us to compare whether it matched their expectations or not.
Outcomes showed that expectations were significantly higher for the neatly wrapped gifts compared to sloppily wrapped ones. After the reveal, individuals getting the nicely covered present reported that it failed to live up to their expectations, while those who got the sloppily wrapped present stated it surpassed their expectations.
This recommends that people utilize the covering as a cue to how excellent the present will be. Neat wrapping sets the bar for the gift too expensive, intimating that it will be a great present. Careless wrapping, on the other hand, sets low expectations, recommending itll be a bad gift.
So a sloppily covered present results in enjoyable surprise, while one thats neat-looking lead to disappointment.
Friends versus associates
In our third and final experiment, we desired to zero in on whether this impact depended on the relationship in between the gift-giver and recipient. Does it matter if the giver is a friend or just an acquaintance?
We surveyed a nationally representative sample of 261 grownups and inquired to imagine being at a celebration with a secret present exchange. At random, participants saw images and envisioned getting either a nicely or sloppily wrapped gift. This time, we advised half of them to picture the present was from a friend, while the other half believed it came from an associate. Then we revealed the gift and asked to rate it.
When it came from a close pal, receivers ended up liking the sloppily covered present more, simply like in our other experiments. When the gift came from an acquaintance, receivers chose it when it was nicely covered.
It might not be worth the effort if its for a buddy.
A pleasant surprise
If youre worrying over gift covering this holiday season, consider saving yourself time, effort and money by wrapping your friends and households presents haphazardly.
But if youre planning to offer a gift to someone you do not understand rather as well– a work coworker, for example– its most likely worth it to reveal you put in some effort to make it look excellent with all of the cool folds, stunning bows and crisp edges.
I, for one, am taking these results to heart. From now on, Ill only wrap my partners gifts sloppily so shell always be pleasantly shocked no matter how good– or bad– the present is.
Written by Erick M. Mas, Postdoctoral Fellow in Marketing, Vanderbilt University.
This short article was first released in The Conversation.
By Erick M. Mas, Vanderbilt University
December 24, 2021
