The Effect of Gift Comparability on Recipients' Evaluation

Tourists usually buy gifts to relatives and friends during journey. However, the asymmetry of gift appreciation generally occurs between givers and recipients in process of gifting. Prior researches demonstrated that the asymmetry comes from different conditions that givers selected gifts from many simultaneous options in the joint evaluation mode (JE), but recipients merely evaluate gift in the separate evaluation mode (SE), that caused their discrepancy. But this kind of theory is frequently having contradiction in practice. This research proposes that the gift comparability should be considered in JE mode. This research focuses on the effect of gift comparability (wide vs. narrow), on evaluation of recipients (SE vs. JE), and two experiences were adopted. The result revealed that in wide gifts comparability condition, recipients perform in JE are resulted in more positive appreciation on the gift. Comparatively, in narrow gifts comparability condition, recipients perform in JE that showed preference reversal from givers are brought less negative appreciation on the gift, whereas ones perform in JE that showed preference symmetry with givers are resulted in more positive appreciation on the gift.

關鍵字

gifting ； comparability ； preference reversal ； separate evaluation (SE) ； joint evaluation (JE)

並列摘要

觀光客常常在觀光的過程中購買禮物回去致贈給親朋好友，但是在送禮的過程中，經常發生收禮者對送禮者對所贈送的禮物評價有所落差。以前的學者們雖然曾提出送禮者與收禮者對禮物評價的落差來自於情境上的不同，認為送禮者是採用共同評價的方式從諸多商品中挑選出禮物，而收禮者卻只能由送禮者所選出的唯一禮物去進行單獨評價，所以容易造成雙方的落差，這樣的理論在實證中時常發生不同的矛盾結果。本研究提出在做共同評價時應該要考慮到被挑選禮物之間的對比程度大小問題，才能解釋理論不致發生矛盾的混淆結果。因此，本研究採用兩個情境實驗來實證，並探討持共同評價及單獨評價的收禮者，在被挑選中的禮物對比程度大或小的情況下，對該禮物的評價的影響。結果顯示，當兩個被挑選的禮物所呈現對比程度大狀況時，如果送禮者也同收禮者皆持有相同的共同評價時，相較於只能單獨評價的收禮者，對於所收的禮物會呈現較高的評價。相對地，當兩個被挑選的禮物呈現對比程度小的狀況時，如果送禮者與收禮者兩人所持的共同評價為偏好顛倒時，收禮者則對於所收的禮物會呈現較低的評價；如果收禮者與送禮者在共同評價上呈現偏好一致，才會對所收的禮物呈現較高的評價。

並列關鍵字

送禮；對比程度；偏好顛倒；單獨評價；共同評價

參考文獻

Alba, J.W., & Hutchinson, J.W. (2000). Knowledge calibration: What consumers know and what they think they know. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(2), 123-156.

Google Scholar

Areni, C.S., Kiecker, P., & Palan, K.M. (1998). Is it better to give than to receive? Exploring gender differences in the meaning of memorable gifts. Psychology & Marketing, 15(1), 81-109.