A new study has revealed that those who wrap their presents sloppily as opposed to neatly make the people receiving the gifts much happier!
Who really has time to learn how to properly wrap a present?
Christmas can be a massively stressful time of year, what with trying to figure out what to get all of your loved ones. However, the single most stressful part of the holiday season is trying to figure out how to wrap your more obstreperously shaped presents.
Have you ever tried to wrap an unboxed pair of wellington boots? Good lord, it is stressful!
However, it’s cracking news for all of my fellow cack-handed wrappers.
Yes, finally I have an actual scientific study to whip out when my mother asks, “Why are you so terrible at wrapping presents? Why don’t you just get them gift wrapped if you’re that bone-headed?”
Well, mother, thanks to a study conducted between the University of Nevada of Reno and Vanderbilt University, it turns out that you’ll be happier because of my tatty wrapping!
The results were discovered after three separate studies.
The first study was conducted by marketing expert Jessica Rixom of the University of Nevada, Reno and her colleagues, by providing their test subjects with either shoddily or neatly wrapped gifts. Inside each of the presents were either a licensed basketball team logo mug for the Miami Heat, or for the Orlando Magic.
All of the research subjects selected had been Miami Heat fans, which made the Miami Heat mug the preferred gift. Upon opening the gifts, the subjects were asked a series of questions to determine how much they rated the gift they had received.
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The study found that the shoddily wrapped mugs were received more positively.
Regardless of what gift was inside the present, the research team found that all of the study’s participants reacted more warmly to the gift if it looked like it had been wrapped by a blind mountain goat.
The researchers claimed that the results may be due to expectations.
It is now thought that the results of the experiment are due to the fact that our expectations are raised by seeing a present wrapped neatly compared to the being lowered by one wrapped poorly, as Professor Rixom explained :
“When we receive a gift from a friend, we use the wrapping as a cue about the gift inside and form expectations. If it’s wrapped neatly, we set high expectations, and it’s hard for the gift to live up to those expectations.”
A second study was conducted to confirm the findings.
In the second study, participants were first asked to look at various pictures of poorly and neatly wrapped gifts and to rate their expectations of what the gift could contain. After being presented with the next gift, they opened it to find a pair of JVC AirPods, and were then asked to rate their satisfaction. The study’s findings explained:
“Wrapping neatness affects recipients’ gift-related expectations and attitudes. The higher (lower) expectations resulting from neat (sloppy) wrapping lead to less (more) positive gift-related attitudes.”
A third study, however, found that some of your acquaintances may react differently.
Some of the researchers speculated that how well you know the person may affect the results:
“If someone is questioning whether a gift is desirable for a friend and they try to make it more appealing by wrapping it well, this strategy may backfire in the end. On the other hand, it may be wise to go the extra mile with wrapping when giving a gift to an acquaintance,” said Professor Rixom.
They theorized that some friends may use the quality of your wrapping as an indicator of how much you value their friendship. Look, some people are just bad at wrapping, and if you think that talent at wrapping equates to how much someone values you then good lord you need a reality check!
So, next time they offer to gift wrap your present, maybe reconsider!
Yes, it’s finally time for ribbons, extravagantly priced wrapping paper, and daft labels to hit the road, as shoddily wrapped presents are the way forward!
Have these findings made you feel more confident about your poor wrapping ability? Or will you still go the extra mile to make your gifts stand out under the tree… well, stand out for the right reasons that is?
h/t: Daily Mail
