I've Felt Your Presents

By Helen Potter

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you'll have realised that retail establishments would like you to know that Christmas is coming. Already.

As if premature seasonal madness on the high street wasn't enough, it seems that Norwegian behavioural biologists are giving it their full attention.

A team from the University of Oslo led by Dr Iver Mysterud has looked into the tactics of giving Christmas presents.

The team discovered eldest children normally spend more money on gifts than their younger siblings, with middle children giving least.

"In a group of siblings there is competition for parents' attention. While the oldest of the children will often be more conservative and more similar to their parents, so the next in line must choose another strategy to gain attention and resources. Therefore they are often more rebellious", says Mysterud.

The study also showed that people gave more to their nearest relatives, and that the value of the reciprocal gift was less important. This was put down to an increased payoff in helping your own genetic material; the value of the gift you get back therefore being more important with non-relatives.

It was also noted that girls give more Christmas presents than boys, but rather than attribute it to the limited stock available at 3pm on Christmas Eve, Mysterud suggested:

"Before, it was the girls that would move from the home to begin a family, while the boys were more attached to the place in which they grew up. So saying, girls must learn from the bottom-up the new social ties. Gift giving has played an important role in winning favour in the new family."

This is the first time that gift giving and birth order have been looked at from an evolutionary perspective.

So, if like me, you're both the eldest and female, you can look forward to a very expensive Christmas.

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