It’s Not Me, It’s You : The Downstream Effects of Identity Threat in the Context of Gift Giving

Prior research has established that an external threat to an individual's identity can be resolved via an identity-congruent product choice which bolsters his/her identity. In the context of gift giving, we examine how purchasing an identity threatening product can itself create an identity threat. We posit that purchasing such a product can threaten an individual's identity, particularly when purchasing for a close (vs. distant) friend who is an integral part of the self. Five experiments show that givers choosing identity-incongruent gifts for close friends experience an identity threat and are subsequently more likely to engage in behaviors that re-establish their shaken identity