Oishi Shigehiro, Lee Minha, Koo Minkyung, Cha Youngjae
Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2025 Jun;17(3):e70030. doi: 10.1111/aphw.70030.
Why do some people give a thank-you gift, while others do not? What are the predictors of thank-you gift-giving? We conducted three studies to examine the relative predictive values of indebtedness, gratitude, fondness, and respect in gift-giving. In Study 1 (N = 120), participants read two scenarios that depict two high school teachers and imagined how much gratitude, indebtedness, fondness, and respect they would feel toward each teacher and whether they would give a thank-you gift upon graduation. A multiple regression analysis showed that indebtedness was the only predictor of a thank-you gift. In Study 2 (N = 327, pre-registered), we directly replicated the results of Study 1. In Study 3 (N = 561, pre-registered), we asked participants to identify up to three high school teachers who wrote them recommendation letters and to state whether they gave them a thank-you gift. Replicating Studies 1 and 2, a multilevel analysis showed that indebtedness uniquely predicted whom participants gave a thank-you gift. A thank-you gift seems to be best predicted by the emotion of indebtedness.
为什么有些人会送感谢礼物，而有些人却不送呢？送感谢礼物的预测因素有哪些？我们进行了三项研究，以检验感恩、亏欠、喜爱和尊重在送礼行为中的相对预测价值。在研究1（N = 120）中，参与者阅读了两个描述高中教师的情景，并想象他们对每位教师会有多少感恩、亏欠、喜爱和尊重之情，以及他们在毕业后是否会送感谢礼物。多元回归分析表明，亏欠是送感谢礼物的唯一预测因素。在研究2（N = 327，预先注册）中，我们直接复制了研究1的结果。在研究3（N = 561，预先注册）中，我们要求参与者指出最多三位为他们写推荐信的高中教师，并说明他们是否给这些教师送了感谢礼物。重复研究1和2的结果，多层次分析表明，亏欠是参与者送感谢礼物对象的唯一预测因素。感谢礼物似乎最好由亏欠情绪来预测。
