Ironically, a study finds that we’re awful gift-givers precisely because we spend too much t...

Ironically, a study finds that we’re awful gift-givers precisely because we spend too much time trying to be considerate. We imagine our friends 46 a gift that is impressive, expensive, and sentimental. We imagine the look of happiness and surprise on their faces and the warmth we feel 47 . But there’s something that the most sentimental gift-givers tend not to think too much about: 48 the gift is practical in the first place.
49 , practicality seems like an enemy of great gift giving. Beautiful jewelry, lovely watches, perfect rugs, finely crafted kitchen hardware: These things 50 great gifts because they communicate something beyond practicality. They communicate that the giver cares.
But do the receivers care? Often, no. “Gift receivers would be 51 if givers gave them exactly what they requested 52 attempting to be ‘thoughtful and considerate’ by buying gifts they did not explicitly request” to surprise them, the researchers write. Their clever paper asks givers and receivers to 53 gifts from two perspectives: desirability (e.g. the cost of a coffee maker) and feasibility (e.g. the 54 of the coffee maker). Across several experiments, they find that givers consistently give gifts based on desirability and receivers 55 favor gifts based on feasibility.