The act of receiving and giving special gifts has been part and parcel of human history since time immemorial. It is in fact so ingrained into our public consciousness that it never strikes as unique, which as a species trait it most definitely is. When was the last time you saw a dog gift a bone to another?
Evolutionary biologists and psychologists have ventured hard into the science of giving a good gift item, i.e. to divine the chemical and evolutionary factors which influence our instinct to gift. From these studies, they have also formulated certain ways in which we can be better gift-givers. And since 50 per cent of people report feeling stressed over choosing a special gift, a little help from our fellow scientists in this department would not be unappreciated.
The Purpose of Gifting
The first myth that has come about gifting a good gift item is that the cost does not matter, it is the feeling that does. Firstly, evolutionary scientists report this to be false, since social norms and the depth of relationships presuppose that a certain monetary level should be reached while giving special gifts. Hence, while no one indeed expects a Mercedes Benz from you, they are definitely not content with any ordinary gift like a 5 Rs ball pen. Moreover, the amount of money spent on a gift does reflect your caring, for it shows that you saved from the limited resources available from you to accrue enough dollars to buy that perfect gift item for dear one because they are worth that sacrifice. An expensive and special gift hence shows that you invested your thought too via long-term investment, making it hence an important quality in a gift.
When a person opens a gift item, it sends dopamine down his body, the chemical known as the ‘feel-good’ chemical because it gives you a shot of euphoria. The expensiveness and quality of the gift co-relate with a higher amount of dopamine being released at the initial reveal, hence registering the experience as more precious in the eyes of the receiver. Therefore, expensive and unique should be necessary qualities when choosing a special gift.
Another myth of gift-giving
Another myth that science busts regarding the practice of gift-giving is that the gift has to be some out-of-the-blue experience, something like say the tickets to a U2 concert which the buyer will not probably splurge on. In fact, studies show that tangible gifts which have practical usage over time are more appreciated by people because they save the recipient time from shopping for these products themselves, and moreover reinforce subconsciously their gratitude towards the gift-giver whenever they are asked about that special gift by someone else.
Is there really any science behind this?
Another false idea that science seems to debunk is that you should gift someone thinking about what the receiver’s interests and choices are, putting into the subordinate mode your own choices and preferences. In fact, research shows that a good gift item which more fully reveals the ‘giver’s authentic self’ is more desired as a special gift than a gift which hopes to capture the ‘giver’s idea of the receiver’s self and interests.’ Why this is so is not puzzling when we consider that we do know ourselves better than we know others, and hence the probability of us getting wrong the idea of another person’s self is much higher than us getting ourselves wrong. Moreover, that ‘special gift’ is shown to have a symbolic value: you, which is an idea in abstraction for the receiver, is via gifting made concrete, and the receiver can be made to symbolically possess a part of you forever.
A Special Gift item
All of these brilliant salient features of a good gift item that science has helped to uncover from their psychological veil make it evident why the Novium Hoverpen is such a special gift to give your loved and near ones. The cost of the Novium Hoverpen, which restricts its buying on a mass scale, shows how much effort you have put to cobble together the money needed to make the receiver feel special. This effort makes a long-term impression in the mind of the receiver.
The Special item - Muonionalusta meteorite
The initial euphoria when opening the gift is guaranteed with the Novium Hoverpen. Literally possessing a piece of intergalactic drama, with a piece of the million-year-old Muonionalusta meteorite adorning it (made crystal clear with all its imperfections by the miracle of an acidic process), or beautified with an 8-karat golden ring around it, defying the laws of gravitational forces, having an aluminium carrying case and a Schmidt D1 ballpoint refill manufactured by the genius of the German industry, the Novium Hoverpen is sure to send the chills down the spine when the gift is unwrapped. The dopamine which runs its course through the receiver’s mind will be undoubtedly remembered by him/her for a long time to come.
Affection towards good gift item
There is a positive reinforcement of gratitude that comes when in any intercourse the receiver is asked about that special gift by a third party. With its unique shiny appearance, with a zinc alloy magnetic pedestal to hover it from the forces of nature, the Novium pen is sure to make the person possessing it the centre of attention at any gathering or event or corporate event that they participate in, making them feel special and not having to go through with the bother of coming up with conversation starters. And for getting to dispense with the ways to initiate small talk, boy O boy, gratitude will be registered in a pretty major way.
The Hoverpen is also a good gift item because of its practicality, with its refill option and gravity-defying features saving the recipient from having to purchase new pens or have the fear of losing one. This would be hence a long-time help, a special gift that keeps on giving, which will make a mark on the receiver. And finally, as a piece of ‘you’ being given to the ‘other’, the Hoverpen speaks in its discreet usual charm a promise – that the giver thinks of the receiver as special, of their relationship as being outside the boundaries drawn by time and space and all of nature’s other follies, and that come what may I will stand behind you upright as this pen does for you. In the scientific tongue, the Hoverpen is an experiment which is beyond falsification and hence gives life to the truth of your relationship.
