You’re Choosing a Gift. Here’s What Not to Do
Five takeaways:
- First, ignore the price when picking out a gift, because price is not correlated with the level to which a recipient will cherish a gift. When researchers asked people to recall a gift they gave and then to rate how much they thought recipients liked it, higher prices went with higher ratings. But when people made the same ratings for a gift they had received, price was completely unrelated to enjoyment!
- Second, do not overlook the utility of the gift. Think about how the recipient will use the gift, what benefit it will bring into their lives.
- Third, remember that recipients will not mind waiting for their gift to be useful. It doesn’t need to have a “wow” factor the moment they open the gift; a gift certificate to a well-chosen store may not seem like an amazing gift, but it will be more satisfying to the recipient long term.
- Next, listen to what they ask for. Gift givers think that surprising someone adds value because it shows thoughtfulness. Oftentimes, this just leads to miscues. Recipients will love having their wishes honored.
- Lastly- remember research continually shows that the gift of experiences often leads to more long-lasting satisfaction than new possessions.
From Daniel T. Willingham at The New York Times:
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