Why you may skimp on your Valentine's Day gift

(University of Chicago Booth School of Business) In the study, 'The Friendly Taking Effect: How Interpersonal Closeness Leads to Seemingly Selfish Yet Jointly Maximizing Choice,' Chicago Booth researchers find that people are more likely to take from a close other than a distant other. In a series of studies, the researchers determine that this tendency is rooted in a friendly intention of trying to maximize the total benefits for the pair, or the so-called 'self-other collective.'