Evolutionary aspects of gift-giving dynamics among Norwegian students

Abstract

Data from questionnaires filled out by 336 students during a nine day period in January and February 1999 at the University of Oslo, Norway was analyzed to find patterns in gift-giving behavior corresponding to predicted evolutionary biological and evolutionary psychological hypotheses. Gifts given and received, people given to and received from, monetary value of gifts given and estimated monetary value of gifts received were tallied. We tested the effects of four main factors: kin and non-kin, civil status, sex and birth order. Birth order had several groupings, but the most common was firstborn/middleborn/lastborn (linear birth-order). Middleborns and lastborns grouped together were called laterborns. From Hamilton’s rule we predicted that students would give more the higher the coefficient of relatedness, which was found. About twice as much was spent per member of near family (parents and siblings) than half-near family (grandparents, uncles/aunts, nieces/nephews; and first cousins were included). First cousins seemed to be an exception to the rule, receiving as much as near family. Children got twice as much as the other near-family members, and partner stood out receiving the most of all receivers, about four times as much as near-family members. Friends received the same amount as half-near family. All students gave to their near family, 218 to grandparents, 64 to aunts and 77 to uncles, 63 to nephews/nieces, 93 to cousins and 222 gave to friends. There were effects of civil status; cohabiting students gave more to their partners and less to their friends and own family than married and dating students. Dating students were most active in gift giving overall. There were sex differences; overall, we found women to be more active in gift giving than men. And finally, there were birth-order differences; overall, firstborns were more active than laterborns in gift giving, especially with half-near family. Middleborns invested slightly more on friends than firstborns. Lastborns, though giving to least friends, spent the largest total amount of money on them compared to firstborns and middleborns. Lastborns were the least active in gift giving in general. Lastborns and middleborns invested somewhat more in friends than firstborns. The results are supportive of earlier findings from other studies.