Homo Consumericus

The Nature and Nurture of Consumption

Dr. Gad Saad is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University) and author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption. See full bio

February 9, 2009, Evolutionary Psychology

Comments on "Beware of Valentine’s Day Gift Traps: Men and Women Are Indeed from Mars and Venus Respectively."

Beware of Valentine’s Day Gift Traps: Men and Women Are Indeed from Mars and Venus Respectively.

By Gad Saad, Ph.D. on February 9, 2009 in Homo Consumericus

When it comes to the gift giving ritual, men and women are indeed from the proverbial Mars and Venus respectively. Not only are men more likely to offer gifts to their mates for tactical reasons but also they seem blissfully unaware of how to read the subtleties of the gift giving ritual. Read on if you wish to avoid any Valentine's Day traps! Read More

bottom line

Submitted by Harmeen Soch on February 11, 2009 - 12:14pm.

I guess you're right about getting the free pass on this post...

The gender of the psychologist of this post would have made it even more special as it would have lent credibility. But since you couldn't help adding the bottom line, it brings you back to square one.

Nevertheless, very interesting and quite true.

Being male must suck

Submitted by Elle on April 14, 2009 - 12:55am.

The way you put it, men need to tread delicately around the way the speak about women and genders, and that in some ways they are in a situation that allows for sexism in one direction, and while it annoys me that you say so, I've yet to see anything that disproves it. It's the Curves Effect; a men's only gym is sexist and old fashioned, a women's only gym is to protect women from sexist and old fashioned men.

What can you do?

Submitted by Toronto Florist on October 1, 2009 - 11:32am.

But really, in the end what can you do? Buy nothing? You are better off giving in to the valentine's pressure than NOT getting your better half a gift and making him or her feel left out. Valentine's day is not all bad - it's a day dedicated to someone you love!