Hinspired by films, songs, books but not only. Because the Christmas and everything that revolves around it over the years it has also been the subject of various and, sometimes very curious, scientific studies. What mechanisms come into play, for example, when we choose a Christmas gift? What effect can it have? Christmas music on our brain? And why some people they feel Christmas more compared to others?
Here are the studies that have tried to answer these age-old questions…
Scientific studies on Christmas: the (hidden) meaning of decorations
You are among those who enjoy Christmas at decorate balconies, gardens and other outdoor spaces? In all likelihood your neighbors will then be inclined to consider you more sociable. A curious and a little dated study of the nineties has in fact highlighted how people who decorate the outside of their holiday homes are perceived by neighbors as friendlier and more welcoming. Those who find themselves in front of decorated houses perceive these decorations as a sign of ‘friendliness and a spirit of welcome’, compared to undecorated houses.
On the topic of decorations and surroundings, science has actually expressed itself on other occasions. The great classic? Those who decorate their homes early are happier. The sentence, which has been proposed to us for years now on social media and web articles, is due to Steve McKeownpsychologist and founder of McKeown Clinicaccording to which decorate the house in advance It makes you feel like a child again and it would be a typical attitude of those who know how to live their emotions better.
Christmas music: what effect can it have?
From All I Want for Christmas Is You to Jingles Bells, another great classic of this period are the Christmas songs which are the background to our purchases in shops and the inevitable parties with friends. Their effect on us? It was investigated by a small studio carried out at the medical research unit of“Sønderjylland” hospital in Denmark. The researchers’ aim was to verify if Christmas music could have a calming effect and stress reduction, exactly as happens for the classic one.
Catchphrases increase the Christmas spirit
The participants, well selected for some characteristics, were subjected to blood pressure measurement, therefore, they were made to sit inside a specially designed environment with Christmas decorations and delicacies to recreate the right atmosphere. We then proceeded to screen the video of the musical piece “All I want for Christmas is you”.
After listening, the participants’ blood pressure was measured again and blood pressure tests were performed follow-up questions regarding the atmosphere and attitude towards Christmas songs. The results of this study demonstrated that not only did listening to the piece of music actually cause a lowering of blood pressure, but also seemed to encourage a greater Christmas spirit, even in those people who were you show little inclination to celebrate Christmas.
Christmas spirit? Question of the brain
When it comes to Christmas, there are no half measures: there are those who love him and those who suffer from Scrooge Syndrome and in front of decorations, family lunches and gifts, he would prefer to run away. But what determines this substantial difference? It was the researcher who attempted to give an answer Anders Hougaard who, together with his team of neuroscientists, tried to investigate brain mechanisms that stimulate the Christmas spirit. To conduct the research, they were 20 people involved divided into two groups: those who celebrated Christmas traditions and those who, due to their culture, do not celebrate the holidays.
The ‘brain areas’ of Christmas
The study was carried out by subjecting the volunteers to a series of images (Christmas and otherwise) while a brain scan was performed with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The result? It would seem There is a “network of Christmas spirits” in the human brain affecting different cortical areas. This network would in fact have had significantly higher activation in people who celebrated Christmas with positive associations compared to those who did not respect Christmas traditions and showed neutral associations. As Hougaard himself claims, however, these results should definitely be taken with a pinch of salt since, to identify the factors that influence the response to Christmas, further investigation is needed.
The right gift? It’s not that (too) targeted
Every year in the run-up to Christmas the mission is always the same: find suitable gifts for everyone. The joke? This effort could actually prove to be absolutely counterproductive. It was this curious paradox that was highlighted Mary Steffel, Professor of Marketing at Northeastern University. The scholar together with other researchers has in fact conducted several studies aimed at investigating i mechanisms that come into play when we choose a gift. According to what emerged, when you find yourself choosing gifts for several people, as happens at Christmas, you tend to give greater weight to diversifying, looking tailor-made gifts for each. At the expense of versatility which would be instead the most appreciated feature when receiving a gift. Steffel and colleagues in fact asked two groups of volunteers to put themselves in the shoes of the person giving or receiving and to choose between two possibilities: a voucher for their favorite shop (the other’s or their own) or one that can be spent anywhere. Result: i donors generally chose the most targeted gift, recipients the most versatile voucher.
Last minute gifts are better
The researcher offers another example. Let’s take it someone who would like to give a magazine subscription to two friendsboth passionate about sports but one of them with a secondary interest in technology. Instead of giving them both a sports magazine, the donor might select a sports magazine for the friend who only likes sports and a technology magazine for the friend who likes both sports and technology.
Even if the second friend would probably have preferred a sports magazinea choice that in all probability would have been made by the donor if he had to make only one gift. And seeing that with a gift that is too personal and thoughtful, would end up ‘patching’, a good strategy, according to the researcher, is to focus on last minute gifts. The less time you have to think about the gift, the greater the chance of success.
The best Christmas gift? An experience
But the doubt is often different: the right gift exists? Maybe not but a useful indication comes from one study published on Journal of Consumer Research. A group of researchers from the University of Toronto has in fact demonstrated how give experiences – travel, concert tickets or vouchers for a massage – may be the best choice, at the very least if the objective is to consolidate the bond with the recipient of the gift. According to scholars, in fact, the experiences have the ability to elicit strong emotional responses and to strengthen social connections more than material goods do. The experiments conducted also revealed that i experiential gifts strengthen relationships and produce greater positive effects than material gifts, regardless of whether the donor and recipient enjoy the gifted experience together.
Chatting with friends at Christmas (Getty Images)
Spending money on others makes you happier
Those who really can’t stand the idea of having to give gifts at Christmas might change their minds knowing that it’s probably about one of the best ways to spend money. To reveal it Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Nortontwo scholars who have dedicated much of their research to investigating the complex link between money and well-being, trying to answer the ‘question of questions’: does money bring happiness? Well, according to one study led by them, spend money on other people may have a more positive impact on happiness than spending money on yourself.
New Year’s Eve: the reasons why it is often a ‘flop’
Finally, have you ever wondered because the night of December 31st ends often for leave us with a bad taste in our mouths? The answer to the question in this case was not a study but the scientific dissemination channel AsapSCIENCE. In a funny and enlightening video from a few years ago, in fact, the scientific factors that contribute to the explanation are listed because on New Year’s Eve we (almost) never have fun.
Among these, the weight of budgets at the end of the year, too high expectations and the effort to have fun at all costs which would have the opposite effect. The final blow? It could come from alcohol with which we often risk overindulging on New Year’s Eve: alcohol in fact acts on the limbic system, i.e. on those brain structures that regulate emotional control. Result: you may find yourself having to do the math too with unpleasant mood swings.
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