Rule Enforcement Without Visible Means: Christmas Gift Giving in Middletown
Abstract
As part of a much larger study of social change in Middletown (Muncie, Ind.), a random sample of adult residents was interviewed early in 1979 about celebrations of the previous Christmas. This paper describes the unwirtten and largely unrecognized rules that regulate Christmas gift giving and associated rituals in this community and the effective enforcement of those rules without visible means. A theoretical explanation is proposed.
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Caplow notes strict compliance with the rule that a Christmas gift should be scaled in economic value to the emotional value of the relationship.
“For example, Caplow (1984) notes strict compliance with the rule that”
From Gifts as Economic Signals and Social Symbols (1988) · cites this paper as Caplow 1984
The fact that gift giving is circumscribed by convention helps explain why gift-giving rules are often enforced without tangible sanctions.
“Noting that gift giving is circumscribed by convention helps explain why gift-giving rules are often enforced without tangible means or sanctions against deviance (see Caplow 1984).”
From Gifts as Economic Signals and Social Symbols (1988) · cites this paper as Caplow 1984
Conventions, like language, are self-enforcing: an English speaker has no incentive to deviate if others speak English because English communicates best; similarly gift giving is a language using objects instead of words.
“Conventions, like language, are”
From Gifts as Economic Signals and Social Symbols (1988) · cites this paper as Caplow 1984
Caplow observed that parents rarely photograph their children with all gifts unwrapped because doing so invites invidious comparison of gifts and relationships.
“In this regard, note Caplow's (1984) observation that parents rarely photograph their children with all their gifts unwrapped (though they often photograph children surrounded by wrapped gifts), because to do so”
From Gifts as Economic Signals and Social Symbols (1988) · cites this paper as Caplow's (1984)
In contemporary Western societies, women give more and receive more gifts than men, and gift-giving is regarded as an essential part of a feminised ideology of love.
“In contemporary Western societies, women not only give more but also receive more gifts than their male counterparts, and gift-giving is regarded as an essential part of a feminised ideology of love (Cheal 1988;Caplow 1984).”
From Gifts (2020) · cites this paper as Caplow 1984
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Picking Gifts for Picky People
Cheng, A., Meloy, M. G., & Polman, E. (2020) · Journal of Retailing · doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2020.07.003 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
When gratitude and cooperation between friends affect inter-brain connectivity for EEG
Balconi, M., Fronda, G., & Vanutelli, M. E. (2020) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/s12868-020-00563-7 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Godbout, J. (1998) · The Journal of Socio-Economics · doi:10.1016/s1053-5357(98)80007-3 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Clothing Disposal System by Gifting
Cruz‐Cárdenas, J., González, R., & Gascó, J. L. (2016) · Clothing and Textiles Research Journal · doi:10.1177/0887302x16675725 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“Similar to scenarios described by previous authors (Caplow, 1984; Gouldner, 1960), the norm of reciprocity here could be relaxed based on the situation and the recipient’s characteristics.”
ResultCollett, J. L. (2010) · Journal of Family Theory & Review · doi:10.1111/j.1756-2589.2010.00062.x · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“This may be one reason children are unlikely to give money as gifts to their parents (Caplow, 1984); they might feel particular pressure to indicate the importance of the relationship in their choice of a nontransferable gift.”
BackgroundCohn, D. Y., & Vaccaro, V. L. (2006) · International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising · doi:10.1504/ijima.2006.008975 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Less cash, more splash? A meta-analysis on the cashless effect
Schomburgk, L., Belli, A., & Hoffmann, A. O. I. (2024) · Journal of Retailing · doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2024.05.003 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Christmas: An anthropological lens
Miller, D. (2017) · Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory · doi:10.14318/hau7.3.027 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Baumann, C., & Hamin, H. (2014) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2014.03.010 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Relational Gifting: Conceptual Frameworks and an Agenda for a New Generation of Research
Weinberger, M. F., Baskin, E., & Gunasti, K. (2024) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1093/jcr/ucae042 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Christmas Feasting and Social Class
Pitts, M., Dorling, D., & Pattie, C. J. (2007) · Food Culture & Society · doi:10.2752/155280107x239863 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“The primary occasion for gift giving to take place was a “traditional Christmas dinner” with a list of familiar foods, although this could become optional in instances where multiple gatherings were required to be scheduled at times when dinner would be inappropriate (Caplow 1984: 1312–13).”
BackgroundThe Conditionality of Norms: The Case of Bridewealth
Horne, C., Dodoo, N. D., & Dodoo, F. N.-A. (2018) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0190272518804532 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Brand magnification: when brands help people reconstruct their lives
Fuschillo, G., Cayla, J., & Covà, B. (2022) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-09-2020-0722 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
- Authors
- Caplow, T.
- Venue
- American Journal of Sociology
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 1984-05
- Volume
- 89
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1306-1323
- ISSN
- 0002-9602 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5390
- OpenAlex
- W2073530501
- Cited by
- 244
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 26.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Sociology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Capital and Networks
- Keywords
- Christmas gift-giving, social rules, rule enforcement, social rituals, social change, Middletown, Muncie (Ind.), gift exchange
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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