This is why you suck at it.
New research suggests that the better you know someone, the harder it can be to predict their taste. According to researchers at Tilburg University and Kathiolieke University, we rely too heavily on preconceived notions because we often think we're much more similar to the people we love than we actually are.
When couples who had been together for at least six months thought they were buying gifts for complete strangers (as opposed to their significant others) they ended up paying much more attention to what that person actually wanted. Wait a second. Does this mean my girlfriend doesn't want some more Bob Dylan paraphernalia for Christmas?
- Log in to post comments
More like this
[This article was originally posted in December, 2006]
I'm not bitter about this, honest I'm not, but it does often seem that people who know you very well end up buying really lousy gifts. What I really want to find out is this: why do they do that? It turns out, market researchers want to know,…
I'm not bitter about this, honest I'm not, but it does often seem that people who know you very well end up buying really lousy gifts. What I really want to find out is this: why do they do that? It turns out, market researchers want to know, too. How can they have a prayer of selling people things…
Last week it was announced that Julie and Hillary Goodridge, the lesbian couple whose lawsuit prompted the Massachusetts court decision and launched our ongoing national debate over gay marriage, were breaking up. The moment I read this, I knew we'd be subjected to a string of "A ha! We told you so…
Note: 1 1/2 feet of snow so far and still falling - we may get more than three by the end (the words "in the higher elevations" are generally the ones you want to listen to when forecasts are made for my area). Power so far, but not expecting it to last. Smaller dog must boing around in snow to…
I totally believe it. I'm sewing hats and scarves for most people for Christmas this year. At the fabric store, it went something like this:
MIL - likes dogs --> dog print fabric
cousin 1 - always wears beige --> beige
cousin 2 - favorite colour blue --> blue
cousin 3 - wears a lot of black --> black
SIL - likes cats --> cat print
My mom, on the other hand? I bought some fabric, but I'm going to use it for something for myself, because now that i think about it, she really doesn't wear the colour I got her.