Study shows some holiday gifts can backfire – leading to hurt feelings, bad reviews

Florida International University

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New research from FIU Business shows that well-intended presents like weight-loss teas or gym memberships can unintentionally send the wrong message – and ultimately trigger negative online reviews that hurt brands.

Published in the Journal of Retailing, the study by Linnéa Chapman, assistant professor of marketing and logistics at FIU, and Farnoush Reshadi of Worcester Polytechnic Institute finds that self-improvement gifts often make recipients feel judged rather than appreciated. That emotional sting frequently spills over into consumer behavior.

“The intention may be positive, but these gifts can imply that you’re not good enough as you are,” Chapman said. “That can sting, and people take out their hurt feelings on the products, for example by giving them low star ratings.”

In five experiments involving a total of 1,340 participants, Chapman compared reactions to self-improvement products versus neutral versions of the products. In one test, participants were gifted a “Get Lean” weight-loss tea instead of Moroccan tea. In another, the gift was a “Communications Skills” calendar rather than a trivia-based “Did You Know?” calendar.

Across every scenario, people who received the self-improvement gift rated it lower, spoke less positively about it, or were more likely to endorse negative online reviews. When they purchased those same products for themselves, however, the effect vanished.

The research identified “hurt feelings” as the emotional trigger driving negative word of mouth.

“Gifts are supposed to signal love and generosity,” Chapman said. “But a self-improvement gift can threaten someone’s view of themselves as lovable and acceptable as they are. It challenges a very basic social need – to be valued without conditions.”

 

Chapman’s research suggests that many recipients redirect their frustration toward the product and the brand, using online reviews as a socially acceptable outlet for disappointment.

The study carries a clear warning for retailers ahead of the upcoming gift-giving season. Self-improvement goods represent a $43 million global market that is expected to reach $67 billion by 2030 – but pushing them as holiday gifts may backfire.

“A yoga mat in January says, ‘I’m motivated,’” Chapman said. “A yoga mat under the Christmas tree might say, ‘You need to lose weight.’ When it comes to self-improvement products, it’s better to stick to buying them for yourself.”

In an era where one-star reviews can deter hundreds of potential customers, understanding the psychology of gift giving can help retailers avoid costly reputational hits, the researchers said.

They recommend that companies rethink timing and framing of their marketing:

• Shift promotions for self-improvement items like fitness equipment or self-help books from November and December to January, when consumers are focused on their own New Year’s resolutions.
• Rethink pricing incentives during gifting seasons. If retailers discount both self-improvement and leisure products for the holidays, Chapman suggests spotlighting the latter instead.
• Humanize review requests. When companies solicit feedback, adding a personal touch such as a note signed by a real employee (“Thanks for your review! – Alex, Founder”) can reduce consumers’ negativity.
• Offer small incentives for reviews. Even a modest gift card can increase positivity and reduce the likelihood of low ratings.

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Journal

Journal of Retailing

DOI

10.1016/j.jretai.2025.04.005 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Generating insult from injury: Receiving self improvement gifts causes negative word of mouth

 

A mulching film that protects plants without pesticides or plastics

“Citronella Oil Incorporated into Active Mulching Films for Insect Control in Strawberry Crop”

American Chemical Society

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image: 

A new biodegradable alternative to traditional plastic films protected strawberry plants by naturally repelling pests with citronella oil.

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Credit: Camila Gil

Whether you’re a home gardener or an industrial farmer, you might be familiar with mulching films — plastic sheets laid over the soil to protect seedlings and promote crop growth. But like many other plastic materials, these films can release damaging microplastics and don’t have any insect-repelling power. So, a team reporting in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology has developed an alternative biodegradable mulching film that also naturally repels pests using citronella oil.

“This research shows that it is possible to protect crops using biodegradable materials that reduce both pesticide use and plastic pollution. Our goal is to bring farmers closer to safer and more sustainable agricultural practices,” explains Camila Gil, the corresponding author of the study.

Mulching films retain moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth, but they’re often made from polyethylene plastic. As a result, the films are hard to recycle and can release microplastics that negatively impact soil organisms. Now, scientists are developing biodegradable mulching films using plant-based polymers such as cellulose acetate. Gil and colleagues wanted to improve a cellulose acetate film by including the insect repellant citronella oil. So, the team created a robust, citronella oil-infused film and investigated how well that film protected strawberry plants from a common pest: the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci).

The researchers created films with varying concentrations of citronella oil and found that the oil did not reduce the film’s strength or flexibility. However, the new film did not retain moisture as well as traditional plastic film. To simulate a realistic use case, researchers covered the soil of strawberry plants with one of the different films and wrapped the setups in insect-capturing nets. Then they released around 25 whiteflies inside the nets. This setup was repeated on an unprotected control plant and on a plant protected with polyethylene film. The team found that after seven days, pests laid around six eggs on plants protected with the citronella-oil-containing films, far fewer than the 30-plus eggs laid on plants with traditional plastic film or no soil protection at all. The researchers say that this work represents a step toward a more environmentally friendly way to protect crops without using plastics or environmentally damaging pesticides.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifíco e Tecnológico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais), and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Niv́el Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education).

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

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Journal

ACS Agricultural Science & Technology

DOI

10.1021/acsagscitech.5c00451 

Article Title

“Citronella Oil Incorporated into Active Mulching Films for Insect Control in Strawberry Crop”

 

Home buyers are overpaying mortgage fees. Shopping around can help.

University of Florida

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A new study reveals that most U.S. home buyers are overpaying mortgage fees, a market totaling more than $13 billion a year.

The report also finds that searching for lower costs can save consumers an average of $32 in fees and more than $1,000 in interest per loan, making competitive pricing a consumer’s best defense against overpayment.

“If they have a chance, lenders will definitely make borrowers pay higher fees,” said Cheng “Cathy” Zhang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate in the University of Florida’s Warrington College of business and author of the study. “To reduce that overpayment, there are things home buyers can do: shopping, using brokers or using simplified loans, like zero-fee loans.”

Of all those fee-busting options, shopping around saved the most, in both fees and interest rates, Zhang found. With many lenders offering instant quotes online, shopping may not even take that long. 

But consumers routinely report that they’re unaware that mortgage fees and total costs vary a lot by lenders, leaving them vulnerable to paying more than they need to.
“It’s just because they don’t know. Just one small step might be able to save them a lot,” Zhang said.

While researchers have previously looked at the market for mortgage rates, lenders did not have to report other costs, like origination fees, until recently. Starting in 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau started collecting and sharing data on the total costs of mortgages, including these fees. 

In her study, Zhang found that the fees average around 1-3% of the mortgage, or a little over $1,000 on an average loan of about $269,000. Some fees can approach 8% of the loan, however. On the other hand, some lenders will roll the fees into the interest rates borrowers pay over time. These types of loans, known as simplified or zero-fee loans, can actually save borrowers on overall costs, Zhang found.

Not everyone is overpaying, though. Savvy home buyers, those who’ve purchased homes in the past or people with higher incomes are more likely to end up paying less.
“Overall, people are overpaying for mortgage fees,” Zhang said. “But it’s largely driven by less sophisticated borrowers. For example, lower income borrowers, or those with less education.”

The study was published Oct. 31 in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.

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Journal

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics

DOI

10.1007/s11146-025-10039-2 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Do U.S. Borrowers Overpay Mortgage Fees?

 

Study finds take-home methadone at hospital discharge can be a critical turning point in opioid recovery

Nearly half of patients who received take-home methadone successfully connected to treatment, showing how even a short supply of medication can bridge the gap between crisis and care

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

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For patients recovering from opioid use disorder, particularly from drugs like fentanyl or heroin, the days immediately following a hospital stay are among the most dangerous. A new multi-state study led by researchers at CU Anschutz found that nearly half of patients discharged with take-home methadone successfully connected to follow-up treatment within 72 hours. That window can be the difference between relapse and recovery or even life and death.

The study was published today in JAMA.

“This is a moment where a life can tip one way or the other,” said Susan Calcaterra, MD, MPH, MS, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. “And we now have a practical, economical, and proven way to help people stay on the path to recovery.”

The study examined 519 hospital visits across Connecticut, Maryland and Colorado, focusing on patients discharged with take-home methadone for opioid use disorder treatment. This strategy became more accessible following a 2023 update to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “72-hour rule,” which allows practitioners working outside of an opioid treatment program (OTP), also known as a methadone clinic, to dispense (but not prescribe) up to three days of narcotics to manage acute withdrawal while formal treatment is arranged.

Researchers found that 44% of patients who received take-home methadone successfully connected to an OTP within 72 hours. The likelihood of successful follow-up increased if patients were already enrolled in an OTP, discharged to a structured care setting like a rehab facility or received higher methadone doses. Conversely, patients who used stimulants such as methamphetamine or cocaine alongside opioids were less likely to engage in follow-up care.

“The take-home methadone doses serve as a critical bridge when treatment isn’t immediately available, especially when a patient is discharged from the hospital on a weekend or a holiday when OTPs are closed or have limited hours, leading to a delay in medication treatment access,” said Calcaterra.

Calcaterra emphasized that untreated opioid withdrawal can cause a person to return to unprescribed opioid use, increasing their risk of overdose and death.

“Providing take-home methadone doses ensures the patient has sufficient time to connect to the OTP after hospital discharge before experiencing opioid withdrawal. Whereas before, patients had to connect to the OTP in less than 24 hours from the time of their last methadone dose to avoid uncomfortable opioid withdrawal symptoms, a challenge for people who are weak and deconditioned following a hospitalization,” said Calcaterra.

Hospitals that had strong partnerships with OTPs and post-acute care facilities saw better outcomes. Shared electronic health records, coordinated discharge plans and formal agreements between hospitals and treatment providers all contributed to higher follow-up rates.

“What made the biggest difference in linkage from the hospital to the OTP was the combination of the medication and the support system built around it. . When hospitals, clinics and caregivers work together, patients are far less likely to fall through the cracks,” said Calcaterra.

As overdose deaths continue to rise nationwide the findings offer a realistic, evidence-based solution that hospitals can adopt immediately.

“This isn’t a major overhaul, it’s a simple low-cost intervention that can keep someone alive during a critical few days,” said Calcaterra. “In a crisis, something as small as a few take-home meathdone doses can give people the time they need to get connected to life-saving treatment and stay in recovery.”

The study was a collaboration between University of Colorado Anschutz; Yale School of Medicine; Yale School of Public Health; UCHealth; Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; The Johns Hopkins Hospital; and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

This research was conducted by Susan Calcaterra, MD, MPH, MS; Melissa B. Weimer, DO, MCR; Eric Grimm, MS; Yevgeniya Scherbak, PharmD; Rawan Abdel Galil, MBBS; Olivia Berger, PharmD; Lindsay A. Bowman, PharmD; Suzanne A. Nesbit, PharmD; Alexandra Barany, PharmD, MBA; and Megan Buresh, MD.

 

About the University of Colorado Anschutz

The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado – which see more than two million adult and pediatric patient visits yearly. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $910 million in annual research funding, including $757 million in sponsored awards and $153 million in philanthropic gifts. 

 

 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open