IKEA effect
We value what we built ourselves more highly, even if it came out worse than if someone else had made it.
What problem it addresses
It explains why our own effort increases attachment to a product, a project or an idea.
An example
Some people assembled an IKEA box; others received the same box already assembled. Then everyone bid on it.
They offered 63% more for the box they had assembled. The effect disappeared if they didn’t finish it.
Why it happens
Putting effort into something makes us feel capable.
What we have made says something about us,
so we value it more than the same thing made by others.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Let people customize or configure something: they will get more involved.
Avoid
Adding unnecessary work just to increase attachment.
Don’t fall for it
When you defend your own idea, ask an outsider to compare it with others.
+63%
What the research says
That is how much more people offered for the box they had assembled themselves (Norton, Mochon and Ariely, 2012).
Solid evidence. The same happened with origami figures: their makers valued them almost as much as those made by an expert.
Connections
Used in
Authors and works
- 2012
Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely
Named it and measured it with IKEA boxes and origami figures.
Sources
Original sources
- Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 453–460. View source: Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012)
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