Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/the-ikea-effect-why-we-overvalue-things-we-build-ourselves/
Picture this: you’ve just spent three hours wrestling with an IKEA bookshelf, deciphering cryptic instructions that might as well be written in ancient runes. Your back aches, you’ve got a mysterious leftover screw, and you’re pretty sure the thing wobbles. Yet somehow, you gaze at it with more pride than if you’d bought a handcrafted piece from a master carpenter. Sound familiar?
This quirky psychological phenomenon has a name, and it’s more powerful than most of us realize. It shapes our shopping habits, influences major life decisions, and might even explain why your friend won’t shut up about their mediocre homemade sourdough. Let’s dive into why our brains trick us into loving things simply because we put effort into making them.
The Psychology Behind the Effect
Researchers Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely first documented this behavior in 2011, naming it after the Swedish furniture giant that’s made millions from our willingness to build our own stuff. Their studies revealed something fascinating: people valued their self-assembled creations up to 63% higher than identical items built by others. The brain doesn’t just appreciate the end result. It forms an emotional attachment to the struggle, the time invested, and the sense of accomplishment.
Think about it like this. When you build something yourself, your brain releases dopamine throughout the process, not just at the…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-02-09 11:37:00
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