The Benefits of Christmas Spirit

PULLMAN, Wash.– A bah-humbug attitude could cost you this holiday season — either out of pocket or under the tree. That’s the surprising conclusion from recent research in Washington State University’s College of Business and Economics.

It turns out that those who love Christmas enjoy shopping more (no surprise there), but researchers also discovered that while both Santas and Scrooges tend to give the same number of gifts, Santas end up getting more in return.

Interestingly, says David Sprott, principal investigator on the study and the Gardner O. Hart Faculty Excellence Distinguished Professor in marketing, your attitude toward Christmas doesn’t seem to influence how much you will spend. “If anything, a low level of Christmas spirit may lead you to pay more,” he said.

Sprott speculated that people who enjoy Christmas are more focused on finding a meaningful gift (think “Gift of the Magi,” he said) and less prone to impulse buys.

For this study, Sprott and co-author Eric Spangenberg, dean of the College of Business and Economics, along with former doctoral student Bianca Grohman, surveyed 243 people ages 14 to 73 to determine how many presents they typically receive, how many presents they typically give and how much money they typically spend.

Participants also were asked about their attitudes toward gift giving, receiving and shopping to determine if there was a correlation. And there was. The more you like Christmas, the more you get, but the less you spend.

Sprott can be reached at 509.335.6896, or dsprott@wsu.edu.