Selfish Prosocial Behavior: Gift-Giving to Feel Unique

Perhaps the most common form of prosocial behavior that consumers engage in is gift giving. In doing so, consumers presumably act in the best interests of recipients, by giving gifts that they believe recipients will cherish. That said, the results of five lab and field studies demonstrate that consumers sometimes do the opposite: they give gifts they do not believe to be best. Specifically, the present work shows that gift givers desire to feel...