Property and Emotions

Abstract

Relatively little has been written on the connection between property and emotions from a legal perspective, despite the centrality of property in everyday life and the complex relationships that exist between owners and their property. Scholars working in other disciplines have analyzed these links, identifying "proprietary" emotions and corresponding emotional traits. However, little has been mapped onto the field of law. This article looks at key emotions surrounding property as identified in psychological and, to a lesser extent, sociological literature. After mapping these onto selected areas of property law, it posits the need for a deeper and more collective field of inquiry.

The Social Psychology of Property: Looking Beyond Market Exchange

“…When faces are paired with objects, people are better at recall when the pictured person is described as the owner of the object . Some scholars have explored the implications of psychological findings for property law, but this work is relatively recent (for examples, see Blumenthal 2009Blumenthal , 2010Conway & Stannard 2016;DeScioli & Karpoff 2015;Friedman & Neary 2008;Nash & Stern 2009;Spellman & Schauer 2008). This is surprising given the pervasive significance of property in everyday life.…”

“…There is some empirical evidence for the notion that property is an integral part of personal identity and can give rise to feelings of attachment (Belk 1988, Conway & Stannard 2016, Kleine et al 1995. Individuals view some objects as representing an extension of themselves, and this sense that a particular possession is self-constituting is especially true when the individual has more control over it (Belk 1988, Jones 2011.…”

Legal Certainty is Yesterday’s Justification for Acquisitions of Land by Prescription. What is Today’s?

“…Some scholars argue that ownership includes the right to neglect one's property, which makes that acquisitions by prescription cannot be based upon an obligation to monitor. 63 However, as ownership is subject to limitations in the public interest, and it is primarily for the legislator to define these limitations within constitutional and international boundaries, 64 the public interest in averting land conflicts may justify acquisitions by prescription.…”

A Field Evolves: Introduction to the Special Section on Law and Emotion

“…We imbue objects with emotion (think of wedding rings or Nazi paraphernalia) and use objects to enact interpersonal emotional dynamics (think of inheritance disputes). “Proprietary emotions,” Conway and Stannard imply (Conway & Stannard, 2016, p. 38), ought to more systematically inform legal doctrine, which presently is built on a jumble of unexplored assumptions about how people do and ought to feel about objects.…”

“…Of course, the last group in our human triptych-judges-concern themselves not just with facts but also with legal doctrine, the evolving set of rules determining the consequences that attach to facts. We move more squarely into legal doctrine in our next article, "Property and Emotions" (Conway & Stannard, 2016). Heather Conway and John Stannard of the Queen's University Belfast School of Law have been integral to the invigoration of law and emotion studies in the United Kingdom (Schweppe and Stannard, 2013).…”