Participants preferred quality over quantity when choosing for a friend vs for themselves because of heightened self-presentation concerns: People choosing for friends are more concerned about conveying poor taste

The Quality Versus Quantity Trade-Off: Why and When Choices for Self Versus Others Differ. Peggy J. Liu, Ernest Baskin. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, August 17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220941677

Abstract: The trade-off between quality and quantity pervades many domains of life, including that of making product choices for ourselves and others, whether as gifts or as everyday favors. In five studies (four pre-registered), participants preferred quality over quantity when choosing for a friend versus for themselves. We demonstrate that one reason why this difference in choice for self and other arises is because of heightened self-presentation concerns: People choosing for friends (vs. self) are more concerned about conveying poor taste, thus increasing choice of quality (vs. quantity). Consistent with this process, the effect is mitigated when choosing for a nonjudgmental friend or when choosing for a person whom one does not highly value. Finally, this effect is particular to quality-quantity trade-offs; it does not occur for flavor-quantity trade-offs, indicating that the effect is driven by the quality aspect rather than by the quantity aspect or by cost-per-unit considerations.

Keywords: self–other decision-making, quality, quantity, self-presentation, trade-offs

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Appearing as of bad taste was stronger motivation than appearing as cheap