Mere ownership effect is equally pronounced in material and immaterial objects

Abstract

The mere ownership effect is an increase in the subjective value of owned objects compared to identical but non-owned objects. We tested whether the effect differs in magnitude between material and immaterial objects (e.g., information). Three hundred participants played an incentivized detective game in which they had to connect clues to identify a murderer. Their task was to evaluate the usefulness of the clues they or their partners were endowed with. Despite the fact that the immaterial clues were rated as more useful than the material ones, we found the mere ownership effect to be similarly strong for the material and the immaterial clues.

Mere Ownership Effect Is Equally Pronounced in Material and Immaterial Objects

“…The study was put in a cooperative setting of an incentivized detective game. In line with the meta-analysis findings (Białek et al, 2020), we expected the mere ownership effect to be stronger for immaterial rather than material objects.…”

“…The participants, recruited through a snowball sampling method, were divided into groups of three on the basis of their preferences of a time slot. Our sample size provided 80% power to detect a between-subject effect size of d = 0.28, which is smaller than the expected effect based on the meta-analysis (Białek et al, 2020), namely 0.59 [0.47, 0.70].…”

“…To our knowledge, there have been no experimental studies directly testing this problem. However, according to the meta-analysis’s findings (Białek et al, 2020), the mere ownership effect tends to be stronger in studies investigating immaterial rather than material objects. This difference in the magnitude of the mere ownership effect, if true, would have far-reaching consequences.…”

“…Several factors moderate the mere ownership effect (Białek et al, 2020). For instance, it does not require factual ownership and can be a result of subjective feelings based on implied ownership (Nikander et al, 2014; Reb & Connolly, 2007).…”

“…For instance, it does not require factual ownership and can be a result of subjective feelings based on implied ownership (Nikander et al, 2014; Reb & Connolly, 2007). It tends to be stronger toward original objects rather than their similar replicas (Białek et al, 2020). However, most studies on this effect feature tangible objects such as mechanical pencils (Peck & Shu, 2009), coffee mugs (Morewedge et al, 2009), or insulator mugs (Beggan, 1992).…”