Qualitative steps toward an expanded model of anxiety in gift-giving

Previous investigations of interpersonal gift giving have uncovered feelings of anxiety among gift givers. The anxious moments that givers often experience stand in stark contrast to the festive atmospheres and joyous celebrations that surround many gift occasions. Why is gift-giving such a torturous endeavor for so many people? What conditions coincide with the anxious moments that givers often experience? What factors drive this anxiety? These questions are explored in this article, which develops a model based on a self-presentational theory and two sets of qualitative data. The results show that givers become anxious when they are highly motivated to elicit desired reactions from their recipients but are pessimistic about their prospects of success. This article identifies characteristics of recipients, givers, and gift situations that appear to precipitate these anxious moments.