Bah humbug: Unexpected Christmas cards and the reciprocity norm

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• The reciprocity norm describes the social expectation to return favors.
• A previous study indicated strong reciprocity for Christmas cards from strangers (20% rate).

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptually replicate and extend findings on the reciprocity norm in the context of Christmas cards.
• To investigate factors influencing reciprocity, such as perceived similarity, threat, and modern communication habits.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: 755 participants received Christmas cards from hypothetical similar/dissimilar strangers to measure reciprocation.
• Study 2: 494 participants reported their likelihood of reciprocating, perceived threat/suspicion, and email usage.

Main Results:

• Study 1 showed a significantly lower reciprocation rate (2%) than previously reported.
• Study 2 found that higher perceived threat/suspicion and increased email use negatively correlated with the likelihood of reciprocating.

Conclusions:

• The strong reciprocity norm observed in earlier offline gift-giving studies may be declining.
• Perceived threat and digital communication habits appear to reduce the likelihood of reciprocating unsolicited offline gifts from strangers.