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decision making
We overvalue things simply because we helped build them.
A 2011 study showed that participants valued self-assembled furniture as highly as items built by experts.
Researchers had one group assemble an IKEA box and another group inspect a pre-built one. When bidding on the items, the builders were willing to pay significantly more for their own creations. This cognitive bias only holds true if the task is successfully completed.
Your pride in a project might have more to do with your labor than its actual quality.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Norton, Mochon, & Ariely, 2011, Journal of Consumer Psychology
- What the check found
- The 2011/2012 study by Norton, Mochon, and Ariely indeed concluded that builders valued their self-assembled products as much as similar items built by experts, provided the assembly was completed successfully.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.