Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.14695/KJSOS.2020.23.2.89

Possessions for Me, Experiences for Others: Preferred Gift Type in Gift-giving Behavior for Self or Others and a Moderate Effect of Emotional Disconnection Level  

Rim, Hye Bin (광운대학교 산업심리학과)
Kim, Seung Hwan (광운대학교 산업심리학과)
Doh, Eun Yeong (광운대학교 산업심리학과)
Lee, Byung-Kwan (광운대학교 산업심리학과)
Publication Information
Science of Emotion and Sensibility / v.23, no.2, 2020 , pp. 89-102 More about this Journal
Abstract
Consumers purchase gifts for themselves and for others. This research examined whether one's preferred purchase type (material or experiential) would depend on the gift recipient (self or others). A total of 200 participants took part in online studies via Amazon Mechanical-Turk. Based on the construal-level theory, people will focus on concrete product attributes for psychologically close objects; however, for psychologically distant objects, people will concentrate on abstract product attributes. Study 1 demonstrated that participants preferred material over experiential purchases in self-gifting situations, while they preferred experiential compared to material gifts for others. In Study 2, it was found that individual differences in emotional disconnection moderated the effect of gift recipient on preferred gift type. Specifically, the differences in preferred gift type increased as one's emotional disconnection level increased. The results of this research have theoretical implications in terms of extending construal-level theory to gift-purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, this research has practical implications for marketers and advertisers. Limitations and possible future research directions were also discussed.
Keywords
Gift Purchases; Self-gifting; Material Gifts; Experiential Gifts; Emotional Disconnection;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Goodman, J. K., & Lim, S. (2018). When consumers prefer to give material gifts instead of experiences: The role of social distance. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(2), 365-382. DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucy010   DOI
2 Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regressionbased approach. Guilford publications.
3 Heath, M. T., Tynan, C., & Ennew, C. T. (2011). Self-gift giving: Understanding consumers and exploring brand messages. Journal of Marketing Communications, 17(02), 127-144. DOI: 10.1080/13527260903236898   DOI
4 Hong, J. (2019, August 8). Kakao Q2 operating profit 47% up...Kakaotalk advertisement and shopping. Yonhapnews. Retrieved from https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20190808020252017
5 Howland, P. (2010). Self-gifting and the metro-rural idyll: an illusio of ideal reflexive individualism. New Zealand Sociology, 25(1), 53-74.
6 Lamm, C., Batson, C. D., & Decety, J. (2007). The neural substrate of human empathy: effects of perspectivetaking and cognitive appraisal. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19(1), 42-58. DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2007.19.1.42   DOI
7 Lee, E. (2017). The Effects of Role and Intimacy on Satisfaction in Gifticon-giving Situations. Science of Emotion and Sensibility, 20(3), 131-140. DOI: 10.14695/KJSOS.2017.20.3.131   DOI
8 Lee, S. H, & Yi, Y. J. (2013). Gift for myself: A qualitative study of self-gift behavior in Korea. Consumer Studies, 24(3), 123-155. UCI: G704-000210.2013.24.3.007
9 Liberman, N., & Trope, Y. (1998). The role of feasibility and desirability considerations in near and distant future decisions: A test of temporal construal theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 5-18. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.5   DOI
10 Liberman, N., Sagristano, M. D., & Trope, Y. (2002). The effect of temporal distance on level of mental construal. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(6), 523-534. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-1031(02)00535-8   DOI
11 Liviatan, I., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2008). Interpersonal similarity as a social distance dimension: Implications for perception of others’ actions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(5), 1256-1269. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2008.04.007   DOI
12 Lu, J., Liu, Z., & Fang, Z. (2016). Hedonic products for you, utilitarian products for me. Judgment & Decision Making, 11(4). 332-341. DOI: 10.1037/e722292011-059
13 Lu, J., Xie, X., & Xu, J. (2013). Desirability or feasibility: Self-other decision-making differences. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(2), 144-155. DOI: 10.1177/0146167212470146   DOI
14 Luomala, H. T. (1998). A mood-alleviative perspective on self-gift behaviours: Stimulating consumer behaviour theory development. Journal of Marketing Management, 14(1-3), 109-132. DOI: 10.1362/026725798784959318   DOI
15 Luomala, H. T., & Laaksonen, M. (1999). A qualitative exploration of mood-regulatory self-gift behaviors. Journal of Economic Psychology, 20(2), 147-182. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4870(99)00003-3   DOI
16 Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224   DOI
17 Mauss, M. (2002). The gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies: Review of the Routledge. DOI: 10.2307/2804090
18 Mellers, B. A., Schwartz, A., Ho, K., & Ritov, I. (1997). Decision affect theory: Emotional reactions to the outcomes of risky options. Psychological Science, 8(6), 423-429. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00455.x   DOI
19 Mogilner, C., Kamvar, S. D., & Aaker, J. (2011). The shifting meaning of happiness. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(4), 395-402. DOI: 10.1177/1948550610393987   DOI
20 Mick, D. G., & Faure, C. (1998). Consumer self-gifts in achievement contexts: The role of outcomes, attributions, emotions, and deservingness. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 15(4), 293-307. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-8116(98)00006-8   DOI
21 Mortimer, G., Bougoure, U. S., Fazal-E-Hasan, S. (2015). Development and validation of the self gifting consumer behaviour scale. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 14(3), 165-179. DOI: 10.1002/cb.1506   DOI
22 Mouakhar-Klouz, D., d'Astous, A., & Darpy, D. (2016). I'm worth it or I need it? Self-gift giving and consumers' self-regulatory mindset. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(6), 447-457. DOI: 10.1108/JCM-05-2015-1417   DOI
23 Nicolao, L., Irwin, J. R., & Goodman, J. K. (2009). Happiness for sale: Do experiential purchases make consumers happier than material purchases?. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(2), 188-198. DOI: 10.1086/597049   DOI
24 Park, Y. (2019, December 25). US 'Super Saturday' 40 trillion won shopping jackpot...beyond Black Friday. ChosunBiz. Retrieved from https://biz.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/12/25/2019122500710html?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=originalandutm_campaign=biz
25 Pollmann, M. M., Potters, J., & Trautmann, S. T. (2014). Risk taking by agents: The role of ex-ante and expost accountability. Economics Letters, 123(3), 387-390. DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2014.04.004   DOI
26 Polman, E. (2012). Self-other decision making and loss aversion. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 119(2), 141-150. DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.06.005   DOI
27 Seddon, F. A., Hazenberg, R., & Denny, S. (2014). Empathic social enterprise: the role of empathy and shared intentionality. In International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) 11th International Conference: Civil Society and the Citizen, 22-25
28 Polman, E., & Emich, K. J. (2011). Decisions for others are more creative than decisions for the self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(4), 492-501. DOI: 10.1177/0146167211398362   DOI
29 Richins, M. L. (1997). Measuring emotions in the consumption experience. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(2), 127-146. DOI: 10.1086/209499   DOI
30 Rosenzweig, E., & Gilovich, T. (2012). Buyer's remorse or missed opportunity? Differential regrets for material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(2), 215-223. DOI: 10.1037/a0024999   DOI
31 Sherry Jr, J. F. (1983). Gift giving in anthropological perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 10(2), 157-168. DOI: 10.1086/208956   DOI
32 Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440-463. DOI: 10.1037/a0020319   DOI
33 Trope, Y., Liberman, N., & Wakslak, C. (2007). Construal levels and psychological distance: Effects on representation, prediction, evaluation, and behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17(2), 83-95. DOI: 10.1016/S1057-7408(07)70013-X   DOI
34 Tynan, C., Teresa Pereira Heath, M., Ennew, C., Wang, F., & Sun, L. (2010). Self-gift giving in China and the UK: Collectivist versus individualist orientations. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(11-12), 1112-1128. DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2010.508981   DOI
35 Van Boven, L. (2005). Experientialism, materialism, and the pursuit of happiness. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 132-142. DOI: 10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.132   DOI
36 Wong, N. Y., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2005). Emotional intensity as a function of psychological distance and cultural orientation. Journal of Business Research, 58(4), 533-542. DOI: 10.1016/S0148-2963(03)00144-9   DOI
37 Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1193-1202. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.6.1193   DOI
38 Warshaw, P. R. (1980). Buying a gift: Product price moderation of social normative influences on gift purchase intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 6(1), 143-147. DOI: 10.1177/014616728061022   DOI
39 Schwartz, B. (1967). The social psychology of the gift. American Journal of Sociology, 73(1), 1-11. DOI: 10.1086/224432   DOI
40 Weidman, A. C., & Dunn, E. W. (2016). The unsung benefits of material things: Material purchases provide more frequent momentary happiness than experiential purchases. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(4), 390-399. DOI: 10.1177/1948550615619761   DOI
41 Decety, J. (2011). The neuroevolution of empathy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1231(1), 35-45. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06027.x   DOI
42 Bhattacharjee, A., & Mogilner, C. (2014). Happiness from ordinary and extraordinary experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(1), 1-17. DOI: 10.1086/674724   DOI
43 Baskin, E., Wakslak, C. J., Trope, Y., & Novemsky, N. (2014). Why feasibility matters more to gift receivers than to givers: A construal-level approach to gift giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(1), 169-182. DOI: 10.1086/675737   DOI
44 Batson, C. D., Fultz, J., & Schoenrade, P. A. (1987). Distress and empathy: Two qualitatively distinct vicarious emotions with different motivational consequences. Journal of Personality, 55(1), 19-39. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1987.tb00426.x   DOI
45 Belk, R. W., & Coon, G. S. (1993). Gift giving as agapic love: An alternative to the exchange paradigm based on dating experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(3), 393-417. DOI: 10.1086/209357   DOI
46 Caille, A. (2000). Gift and association: Review of the Gifts and Interests. DOI: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2000.2.12.fred1-0012
47 Carre, A., Stefaniak, N., D'ambrosio, F., Bensalah, L., & Besche-Richard, C. (2013). The Basic Empathy Scale in Adults (BES-A): Factor structure of a revised form. Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 679-691. DOI: 10.1037/a0032297   DOI
48 Carter, T. J., & Gilovich, T. (2010). The relative relativity of material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1), 146-159. DOI: 10.1037/a0017145   DOI
49 Carter, T. J., & Gilovich, T. (2012). I am what I do, not what I have: The differential centrality of experiential and material purchases to the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1304-1317. DOI: 10.1037/a0027407   DOI
50 Arndt, J., Solomon, S., Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. (2004). The urge to splurge: A terror management account of materialism and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14(3), 198-212. DOI: 10.1207/s15327663jcp1403_2   DOI
51 Chan, C., & Mogilner, C. (2017). Experiential gifts foster stronger social relationships than material gifts. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(6), 913-931. DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucw067
52 Clarke, K., & Belk, R. W. (1979). The effects of product involvement and task definition on anticipated consumer effort. ACR North American Advances.
53 Clarke, P. D., & Mortimer, G. (2013). Self-gifting guilt: an examination of self-gifting motivations and post-purchase regret. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(6), 472-483. DOI: 10.1108/JCM-05-2013-0566   DOI
54 Derbaix, C., & Pham, M. T. (1991). Affective reactions to consumption situations: A pilot investigation. Journal of Economic Psychology, 12(2), 325-355. DOI: 10.1016/0167-4870(91)90019-P   DOI
55 eMFORCE datalab (2019, September 2). Trend analysis of Chu-seok(Korean Thanksgiving Day) gift market. eMFORCE datalab. Retrived from http://m.emforce.co.kr/resources/upload/emKnowhow/20190902_015329_431420428843309_2019.09.pdf
56 Etzioni, O., Tuchinda, R., Knoblock, C. A., & Yates, A. (2003). To buy or not to buy: mining airfare data to minimize ticket purchase price. In Proceedings of the Ninth ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, 119-128. DOI: 10.1145/956750.956767
57 Gilovich, T., Kumar, A., & Jampol, L. (2015). The beach, the bikini, and the best buy: Replies to Dunn and Weidman, and to Schmitt, Brakus, and Zarantonello. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(1), 179-184. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcps.2014.09.002   DOI