giving as obligation.

I was not raised to specifically think that you HAVE to give something in return when you receive a gift, but it was certainly implied in my family, school, and throughout society while growing up.  This especially rings true during holidays.  You know the feeling... Valentine's Day comes along (which we all know is some stupid Hallmark holiday anyway) and you buy a gift for the special someone in your life... and you totally expect to get something back.  Otherwise, you feel as though you've been cheated.  You put all this effort, time, and money into getting someone something they might like in order to show your affection... and you got nothing!  That obviously means that this person does not like you anymore, and you are very offended.  This is the same way with most holidays in the U.S.  And this rings true for almost everyone.  (Don't deny it!)  Although, there are a few occasions where you just see something that you think someone might like and you happen to just pick it up and give it to them, but this often only happens after you get to know someone fairly well, and well enough to the point where they probably do the same to you, therefore you are still receiving something in return.  I know this all sounds incredibly cynical (and probably extremely generalized too) but like in the article "The Gift", it is almost as though we are programmed to give AND receive, not just give.