Christmas gifts are better received when they’re badly wrapped: study

研究:包装不好的圣诞礼物更容易让人接受

Slapping a nice bow on that last-minute gift of socks this Christmas won’t make it better — in fact, it will make it worse, according to a new study.

一项新的研究表明，在圣诞礼物袜子上打个漂亮的蝴蝶结不仅不会让事情变得更好，反而会让事情变得更糟。

Researchers at the University of Nevada found wrapping presents too neatly inflates the expectations of what’s inside — while doing a sloppy job actually helps the gift go over better.

内华达大学的研究人员发现，把礼物包装得太整洁会使人对里面的东西期望过高。

“Our 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,” marketing professor and study researcher Jessica Rixom said.

市场营销学教授、研究人员杰西卡·里科瑟姆说:“我们的研究发现，如果礼物包装得很整齐，而且是送给朋友的，会提高礼物的内在价值，导致朋友们更不喜欢礼物。”

“However, with sloppy wrapping, our friends set their expectations lower and will actually like the gift more,” Rixom added.

Rixom说:“然而，由于包装草率，朋友们对礼物的期望值降低了，反而更喜欢礼物。”

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.

研究人员通过研究迈阿密热火队的球迷得出了这一惊人的发现。一些人得到印有球队标志的马克杯，另一些人得到印有奥兰多魔术队标志的马克杯。

When a Magic mug was shoddily wrapped, the Heat fans still reported a positive response.

当一个魔术杯被粗劣地包装起来时，热队的球迷们仍然给出了积极的回应。

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, also found that bitter feelings over nicely wrapped gifts were likely to be worse when they came from a loved one rather than an acquaintance.

这项发表在《消费者心理学杂志》上的研究还发现，当礼物包装精美时，来自爱人而非熟人的感觉可能会更糟。

“This response happens because when you give a gift to a friend, they know where the relationship stands, so the wrapping serves as a cue about the gift inside,” Rixom said.

Rixom说:“之所以会有这种反应，是因为当你送礼物给朋友时，他们知道你们之间的关系，所以包装可以作为礼物的暗示。”

“With an acquaintance … if a gift is wrapped neatly, it cues positive feelings about the relationship with the recipient and this spills over to the gift inside,” she added.

她补充说:“如果是熟人送的礼物，包装得很整齐，会让对方对你的关系产生积极的感觉，而这种感觉又会渗透到礼物里面。”