This is interesting and rather timely.

According to a study done by Elizabeth Dunn, Assistant professor of the Dapartment of Pyschology, University of British Columbia, men and women who are romantically involved react differently to receiving gifts.

Crucially, if a man receives a gift which he perceives as “bad” (less suitable than he expects) he will then rate his partner as less similar to him, with the potential for this to damage the relationship. In fact men in receipt of a “bad” gift will often rate the future of their relationship more negatively, saying for example, that they would be less likely to get married! Women however, take a positive view when receiving a “bad” gift.

The British Psychological Society has a research digest wesite, which has a very readable summary of the research here. The article is titled “Why you should take extra care when buying a gift for a man” and I think they are only half joking…..