STUDY: A BADLY WRAPPED GIFT WILL BE MORE APPRECIATED

Researchers at the University of Nevada found that if you wrap a present too neatly, it inflates the expectations of what’s inside — while on the other hand, a sloppy wrapping job actually helps the gift go over better. Marketing professor and study researcher Jessica Rixom said the research found when gifts are wrapped neatly, and given to a friend, it raises the expectations of the gift inside, resulting in our friends liking the gift less. But with sloppy wrapping, our friends set their expectations lower and will actually like the gift more. The researchers made the surprising finding by studying a group of Miami Heat fans. Some were given mugs emblazoned with the team’s logo, while others received mugs featuring the Orlando Magic logo. When a Magic mug was shoddily wrapped, the Heat fans still reported a positive response.
* Go ahead. Do it. Wrap your presents crappy. We dare you.
* By this measure, all of my gifts are loved.
* Thanks, Jessica, for stabbing a knife into customer service gift-wrapping people everywhere.
* To score extra points, do that lazy thing where you dump the present in a Christmas gift bag and stick some tissue paper on top.
* “Uh – we’re gonna need that mug back for the next test subject.”