Norm sociology: Encyclopedia II - Norm sociology - Example gift exchange

Norm sociology - Example gift exchange

The Norm of Reciprocity:

In the western world, it is a custom to exchange gifts in the holiday seasons. It is so deeply ingrained in the minds of people that many do not think of acting otherwise.

Now, suppose you become fed up with exchanging gifts. It is not necessarily easy to change your actions. Unilaterally changing your actions to stop giving gifts may give others the impression that you are a selfish person, and that impression is probably not in your interest.

Notice, however, that the fact that your friends follow the custom may not necessarily imply that they actually want to do so. They may be following the norm for the same reasons as you. The situation resembles that in the short story of The Gift of the Magi. All the friends have to coordinate to change the custom.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Example gift exchange", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki