#12: What’s Mine is Mine

Adding an extra dose of behavioral science to your week with our series In a Nutshell— a collection of behavioral science principles, explained in 150 words or less, written weekly by CUBIC director Allison Zelkowitz.

Think about your favorite backpack, purse, or briefcase.  If I really wanted to buy it from you, how much would you charge me? 

Now think again – how much do you think your bag is actually worth?

I’m guessing your first figure is higher than the second.

The endowment effect reflects the human tendency to assign a higher value to something that belongs to us or that we consider “ours” – even just momentarily.  We develop a sense of psychological ownership extremely quickly, and this makes us view whatever we have more positively – and want to keep it.

While the endowment effect can be applied by salespeople for nefarious purposes, it can also be used for good – a recent megastudy on flu vaccine adoption tested 19 different text messages sent to 47,308 people.  The most effective message indicated that a vaccine “was reserved” for the recipient – this increased uptake rates by 11%.