Gift-Giver's Attachment Styles and the Experience of Emotions

Abstract

This paper discusses the use and value of attachment theory to illuminate dyadic gift-giving behaviour in close relationships. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969), explains the tendency of humans to create strong emotional bonds with significant others and it is one of the most used theoretical frameworks influencing research in close relationships (Fraley et al., 2011). This perspective provides solid theoretical foundations to link close relationships and gift-giving behaviour. Individuals with particular attachment styles are predisposed to think, feel and behave differently in their relationships (Collins, 1996). Drawing on this theory, a model is presented to elucidate whether gift givers with some attachment styles are more prone than others to experience particular emotions when giving or to perceive gift-receiver’s responses differently. Using gift-giving diaries written by fourteen gift-givers, this paper discusses the most frequently mentioned positive emotions both that the gift-giver's experience when giving a gift and that they perceive the receiver as experiencing. It also discusses the underlying reasons for these emotions for gift-givers with different attachment styles. Practitioners might benefit from considering attachment orientations to better understand their consumers and the gift-giving process (Nguyen&Munch, 2011). This paper sets a basis for debate and lays the foundations for future empirical research.