Gender differences in Christmas gift-giving

In Christmas gift giving, the value of a gift is broadly representative of the strength of the relationship between gift-giver and recipient. In this study we examine the effects of relatedness, social proximity, and donor gender on self-reported patterns of Christmas gift-giving. As is consistent with kin selection and social network theory, respondents bought gifts of greater value for more closely related kin, and individuals in more proximate social network layers. Although men and women spent similar amounts on gifts for kin and close network layers, there was a striking gender difference in spending on friends and the most distant network layer, with women spending significantly more