The psychology of a thank-you gift: Who gives it and why?

Abstract

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.