Choosing a Christmas gift is always a stressful time but scientists say it should be surprisingly easier than you think, claiming you should choose something you like rather than guessing what they want.
挑圣诞节礼物通常都会让人感到鸭梨山大。但科学家称挑礼物远比你想象得简单得多，科学家还说你应该挑你喜欢的东西而不是猜收礼物的人喜欢什么。 

The research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology focused on answering the longstanding question: What present should I buy for Christmas and will they actually like my choice of gift?
一项发表在《实验社会心理学杂志》上的研究回答了这个困扰人们很久的问题：圣诞节我应该要买什么礼物呢？他们会喜欢我挑的礼物吗？

The new advice may come as surprise for some long suffering shoppers with the study, carried out by psychologists and other researchers, suggesting you don't need to overthink your presents.
对于那些在这上面深受折磨的人来说，一项新的建议可能会出乎他们的意料。这项由心理学家和其他研究人员所作的意见指出，你没有必要在挑礼物上想太多。

It found that choosing a present which embodies the 'true self' of the giver is more likely to be in tune with the gift receiver's enjoyment of the present.
研究发现，挑选一份体现送礼人“真实自我”的礼物更有可能会让收礼物的人开心。

Buying a present that you think someone will like often leads to disappointment for the receiver.
买一份你认为某人会喜欢的礼物通常会让收礼物的人感到失望。

'Does anyone receive a present they actually want to keep?' said Professor Adrian Furnham, University College London psychologist.
伦敦大学学院心理学家艾德里安·弗恩海姆教授说：“每个人都能收到自己想要的礼物吗？”

'There appears to be no relationship between the cost of a gift and the extent to which it is liked or preferred,' wrote Professor Furnham.
弗恩海姆教授写到：“事实证明，礼物的贵重与否与收礼物的人对礼物的喜欢或偏好程度没有联系。”

A study in September found that when 122 university students bought iTune songs as a gift for friends, the recipient tended to like the gift more if it reflected the buyer's personal favourite music.
九月份一项研究发现当122名大学生从iTune上买一首歌作为礼物送给朋友时，如果这首歌是购买人个人非常喜欢的歌曲，收礼物的人一般都会更加喜欢这份礼物。

Second guessing what someone wants for Christmas can often lead to a loss in understanding of what those closest to you actually value.
反复思量一个人想要什么圣诞礼物通常会让人意识不到那些跟你最亲密之人的真正价值。

Professor Furnham said that the 'subtlety of the exchange' can be most easily seen when the choice of gift turns out to be completely wrong.
弗恩海姆教授称，“礼物交换的微妙之处”通常在挑错礼物的时候最容易看出来。

SImilarly researcher found that people who receive a generous main present as well as a smaller, cheaper gift, tend to work out the average value of the set of gifts.
研究人员还发现，当人们收到比较贵重的礼物附带一些小的便宜的礼物时，通常会计算所有礼物的平均价值。

The cheaper present in the 'bundle gift' approach tends to devalue the price of the main gift.
在“一大捆”礼物当中，便宜的礼物会拉低贵重礼物的价值。

Researchers also gave some handy advice for couples, warning about the dangers of giving presents of great cost too early in the relationship, leading to over-hyped expectations.
研究人员还给情侣们提了一些很实用的建议，向他们指出过早送太贵重礼物的危险性，这通常会让对方（对以后将收到的礼物）表现出过于夸张的期望。

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