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In the modern gift literature an anti-utilitarian and a utilitarian view on the gift can be distinguished. From the anti-utilitarian perspective, the freedom of the gift is seen as one of its main characteristics, while the idea that gifts are caught in a cycle of reciprocity is downplayed. In the utilitarian approach, assumptions about rational actors weighing their preferences according to some utility are predominant. In the first approach, reciprocity is seen as undermining 'genuine' gifts. The utilitarian approach does take reciprocity into account but fails to analyse why the principle of reciprocity is so effective. This article attempts to provide such an explanation. By illuminating both the variety of the forms of the gift and the universality of the underlying principle, it is argued that gifts reflect a multi-purpose symbolic 'utility' that transcends both utilitarianism and anti-utilitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unilateral initiatives are intended to overcome hostility and impasse in bargaining by eliciting trust and thereby allowing for positive bargaining behavior. Previous research demonstrates the effectiveness of unilateral initiatives in the form of small symbolic concessions on the focal issue under negotiation. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of gift giving as unilateral initiatives and assesses the importance of two dimensions of gift giving--the cost of the gift to the giver and the benefit to the receiver. Subjects negotiated with a simulated actor that made unilateral initiatives in the form of gifts. The cost and benefit of the gifts were manipulated, and results indicate that the cost of the gifts was important in determining bargaining behavior (concession making and fine use) while the benefit of the gifts was less so. The effectiveness of gifts as unilateral initiatives implies the generality of the effect of initiatives across exchange domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]