Why Gift-Giving Makes You Anxious

The message we send with gifts (or emails, texts, or just about any form of communication) is not necessarily the same as the message received.

That's because of a bedrock principle of behavioral science known as loss aversion. The idea, simply put, is that bad outcomes have a stronger psychological impact than comparable good outcomes.

you don't want to give someone a gag gift when they're giving you a sincere, heartfelt gift—or vice versa. It's what game theorists call a "coordination game": your main objective is simply to use whatever strategy you think your partner is using. Mismatched approaches to gift-giving are a recipe for awkwardness.