Researcher Shares Insight on Selfish Gifts

Professor of Marketing and Management Deborah Y. Cohn, Ph.D., M.B.A., was featured in the Vox article “The Surprisingly Selfish Reason People Give Terrible Gifts.” Cohn, who has researched why consumers purchase bad gifts, explains that typical bad gift-giving habits stem from pure self-centeredness, like picking out headphones for your spouse that you intend to use or wanting bragging rights for presenting the splashiest gift at the party.

These kinds of gift-giving behaviors aren’t mistakes, and they aren’t innocent, Cohn contends. “It’s selfish,” she says. “It’s thinking more about yourself than the recipient, and people can see right through it.”