The holiday season is upon us, and despite the current recession, most of us still plan on giving gifts to our loved ones. Although the gifts may be smaller, and cheaper, this year the motive behind gift giving always raises that certain question. Is gift giving ever truly unselfish?

“The major motivation and wise goal of gift giving should be elevation of the human spirit, to develop [in the receiver and giver alike] profound virtues of gratitude, generosity, and kindness,” says social psychologist and Professor Martin Bolt from Calvin College in the article “Gift Giving’s Hidden Strings” from The Christian Science Monitor.

Bolt’s words are joyful and encouraging, especially when it comes to spreading holiday cheer rather than landing yourself on the “naughty list” of a loved one. However, there are those of us who have received or given a gift that carried along with it a selfish motive that went far beyond a little feel good feeling.

“I would give my little brother headphones because his loud music drives me crazy!” says 20-year old Philadelphia student Tiffany Jackson when asked what self-serving gift she would appreciate most. And she is not alone according to The Christian Science Monitor writer G. Jeffrey Macdonald. “Givers of all things from cards to parties, from a treat to a colleague to a check for charity, expect some measure of reward in return for doing good deeds,” Macdonald says in his article “Gift Giving’s Hidden Strings.”

Although it doesn’t always feel right gift giving has become a cycle of giving in anticipation of receiving. You give him that I-pod he has been wanting all year and hope that he’ll remember that diamond necklace you have been obsessing over for the past six months. It is difficult not to expect materialistic gratification and if it doesn’t come it is even more difficult not to feel a pang of disappointment…or anger.

However, in some gift giving cases the giver isn’t after a materialistic trade off at all. According to a survey conducted by Remington Products, “68% of Americans think people give gifts to make subtle suggestions about what someone wears or how they look.”

The most popular items among these “improvement” gifts include clothing, gym memberships, and gift certificates for cosmetic procedures. Those who give these types of gifts leave no question as to what their hidden motive for giving is, but morning talk show Good Morning America seems to have no problem with this.

In a morning segments titled “His Gifts to You, Decoded” the show dove deep into uncovering romantic motives behind gifts that would normally come of as offensive and uncaring.

When it came to a man giving his significant other clothing the show named this gift not as a suggestion that she should improve her heinous style, but instead as “a sneaky tactic of warming his way into your heart.”

The segment also named the giving of kitchen appliances, also known as a slap in the face to most self-sufficient women, as “a sign that he’s listening to you and wants to get you what you really want.” Good Morning America certainly has a sunny side up attitude when it comes to uncovering motives for giving during the holiday season.

It seems as if gift giving will never go without the need to help yourself. So this holiday season try to give with the goal of achieving that warming happiness you’ll feel from the gratitude of your loved ones. Take the time to choose, or create, gifts that you put a lot of heart into and only expect that much in return.