Gift giving

Abstract

Across cultures and throughout history, gift giving has played a fundamental role in human interaction. Gifting is deeply embedded in our cultural conception of social norms and values. Stories and acts of gift giving help us understand ourselves with regard to our cultural ideals (e.g., the Statue of Liberty given by France defined America's values around immigration), religious beliefs (e.g., the Three Magi gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus), and our own aspirations (e.g., in the classic Wizard of Oz, the “Wizard's” gifts emphasized valued personal characteristics – a medal for courage for the Lion, a diploma for knowledge for the Scarecrow, and a heart for the Tin Man). Thus, the symbolic meaning and social value of a gift can far exceed its mere physical attributes and monetary worth.Gift exchange is an intrinsic element in maintaining cultural cohesiveness. It enables givers to define and strengthen their bonds with recipients via the choice of gifts that express their point of view on the relationship, the recipient, and the gift occasion. Much of the extant literature on gifting has studied the idiosyncratic set of practices and norms intended to preserve social bonds within a framework of ritualized occasions, such as birthdays or Christmas. Such research has examined how gifting provides relationship maintenance rites such as reciprocity and expressions of appreciation (Cheal, 1988) and reinforces established relationships (Bourdieu, 1977, 1986). Prior research further suggests that the rationale for gifting is that a prescribed cycle of reciprocal gift exchanges establishes predictable transactions between individuals (Sherry, 1983), thus ensuring that important relationships are regularly reaffirmed.Although gifting may largely be thought of as a strategically engineered process, givers and recipients alike are deeply invested in the process of gift exchange. Givers often experience strong feelings of anxiety and excitement in anticipation of presenting a gift to the recipient (Wooten, 2000). Furthermore, one's response to the gift selected is as important as the gift itself, and recipients often regulate their responses to the gift in order to preserve close relational ties. Given the importance of appropriately responding to a gift, society strictly regulates the process of giving and receiving.