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The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love
Author(s) -
Norton Michael I.,
Mochon Daniel,
Ariely Dan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcps.2011.08.002
Subject(s) - valuation (finance) , value (mathematics) , economics , microeconomics , labour economics , psychology , social psychology , aesthetics , art , computer science , finance , machine learning
In four studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate boundary conditions for the IKEA effect—the increase in valuation of self‐made products. Participants saw their amateurish creations as similar in value to experts' creations, and expected others to share their opinions. We show that labor leads to love only when labor results in successful completion of tasks; when participants built and then destroyed their creations, or failed to complete them, the IKEA effect dissipated. Finally, we show that labor increases valuation for both “do‐it‐yourselfers” and novices.