The IKEA effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to place a higher value on things they have personally created, assembled, or invested effort in, even if the end result may not be perfect. The name comes from the popular Swedish furniture company IKEA, which sells ready-to-assemble furniture that customers put together themselves.

Here are two simple examples to help you understand the IKEA effect:

1. Assembling furniture: Imagine you buy a bookshelf from IKEA that requires assembly. After spending hours putting it together, you might feel a strong sense of satisfaction and pride in your work, causing you to value the bookshelf more than if you had bought a pre-assembled one, even if the quality is the same.

2. Cooking a meal: Let's say you cook dinner from scratch, following a complicated recipe with multiple steps. Even if the meal doesn't turn out perfectly, you might feel a sense of accomplishment and believe the meal is more delicious than if you had ordered takeout or bought a pre-made meal from the store.

Being aware of the IKEA effect can help individuals recognize that their attachment to self-created or self-assembled items might be influenced by the effort they've put in, and not solely by the actual quality or value of the item.

The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when individuals place a disproportionately high value on products they have partially created or assembled themselves (Norton, Mochon, & Ariely, 2012). This phenomenon is named after the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, which is known for its ready-to-assemble products. The IKEA effect suggests that the act of investing personal effort into creating or assembling an object can lead to an increased sense of ownership and attachment, even if the end result is not perfect or objectively valuable.

The IKEA effect is related to several other principles and scientific topics, including:

1. Effort justification: A psychological phenomenon where individuals attribute greater value to an outcome they have worked hard to achieve, in order to justify the effort expended (Aronson & Mills, 1959). The IKEA effect can be seen as a specific instance of effort justification, as people assign higher value to self-created objects to rationalize the time and energy they invested.

2. Endowment effect: A cognitive bias where individuals ascribe more value to items they own compared to similar items they do not own (Kahneman, Knetsch, & Thaler, 1990). The IKEA effect can amplify the endowment effect, as the process of personal creation or assembly strengthens the sense of ownership and, consequently, the perceived value of the object.

3. Self-determination theory: A psychological framework that emphasizes the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in human motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). The IKEA effect can be linked to self-determination theory, as the act of creating or assembling an object may satisfy an individual's need for autonomy and competence, thereby enhancing their attachment to the object.

Understanding the IKEA effect and its connections to other psychological principles can help researchers, marketers, and individuals recognize and mitigate the impact of this bias on their judgments, decision-making processes, and consumption behavior.

References

• Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177-181.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
• Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., & Thaler, R. H. (1990). Experimental tests of the endowment effect and the Coase theorem. Journal of Political Economy, 98(6), 1325-1348.
• Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 453-460.