Study Says Wrapping Presents Terribly Makes People Happier
Apparently it doesn’t matter how great your wrapped presents look this year because a Study Says Wrapping Presents Terribly Makes People Happier and that makes my happy just knowing it.
According to a study published by the University of Nevada found that when a gift was wrapped neatly, the recipient of the gift was liked less than if the wrapping was wrapped poorly.
We propose that when recipients open a gift from a friend, they like it less when the giver has wrapped it neatly as opposed to sloppily and we draw on expectation disconfirmation theory to explain the effect.
Weird, right? I would think a nicely wrapped gift would make someone think it was a higher-end gift or more expensive in value.
The study went onto to say:
Specifically, recipients set higher (lower) expectations for neatly (sloppily)‐wrapped gifts, making it harder (easier) for the gifts to meet these expectations, resulting in contrast effects that lead to less (more) positive attitudes toward the gifts once unwrapped.
For many (like myself) this will be a sign of relief since sometimes the most stressful part is getting all the presents wrapped and presentable.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve rewrapped my mother-in-law’s gift because I wanted her to think I was a pro and knew what I was doing. HA.
But now, I just won’t give a crap and hope this study is true and that she ends up happy anyway.
Happy wrapping!
