In any culture, gifting is a major part of celebrating significant events. It may be a universal ritual, but the givers have their own reasons for doing this. First, it’s a way of showing appreciation, gratitude, and love. Second, it’s a person’s way of asking a favour. And third, it’s a person’s attempt to mend an endangered relationship or strengthen existing bonds. Whatever the reason could be, the difference lies on how the giver presents or give the gift.

1. The Unspoken Psychology of Gifting
In the article, Is It Irrational to Give Holiday Gifts? published on the Wall Street Journal, it’s been tackled
that the recipients assign a value that is lower than the retail price to the presents they receive. To
counter disappointments on the part of the giver, economists provide two suggestions: give cash or give
nothing. This premise, indeed, has sparked so many things about the mechanics of giving gifts to the
point that curious minds delve into the minds of the giver and the receiver.
The General Motives of Gifting
In any culture, gifting is a major part of celebrating
significant events. It may be a universal ritual, but
the givers have their own reasons for doing this.
First, it’s a way of showing appreciation, gratitude,
and love. Second, it’s a person’s way of asking a
favour. And third, it’s a person’s attempt to mend
an endangered relationship or strengthen existing
bonds. Whatever the reason could be, the
difference lies on how the giver presents or give
the gift.
The Giver
There are varying behaviours that highlight a
person’s personality when it comes to giftgiving. For instance, there are procrastinators
who delay buying gifts not because they don’t
care, but because they feel pressure to get the
gift that’s ideal for the recipient. There are those
who plan so well to make sure that everyone will
receive a gift, and there are also miserly givers
who only gift for formality’s sake. The most
common behaviour shown by givers is giving
gifts that favour them instead of the recipient.

2. The Receiver
Receiving gifts often comes with a variety of feelings. And these feelings come from knowing how the
giver greatly knows or values the relationship. The receiver will feel he’s special and that the giver really
knows him if what he receives corresponds with what he wants or needs. This is perhaps the reason
wish-lists became a trend. When the receiver gets something that is below his expectation, he may
resort into thinking that the giver has only bought the gift based on his own preference or due to
formality.
This article may make people realise that gifting is way beyond giving and receiving, and that there are
some unspoken rules about it. Whatever the reason a giver or a receiver may have, it’s important that
the both parties give and take with sincerity.
SOURCES:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203893404577098501088230844.html
http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/psychology-regifting
http://www.spoilt.com.hk