Giver–receiver asymmetries in gift preferences

When people are asked to choose between gift items, givers and receivers sometimes show different patterns of preferences. The article reports four experimental studies exploring these giver-receiver asymmetries. Whereas givers tend to prefer exclusive, but smaller gift items, receivers appear to prefer less luxurious, and more useful gifts (Experiment 1). Givers prefer gift vouchers to cash, and are concerned about timing, whereas more...