We often hear people vilify IKEA’s sales policy. But ironically, people who buy and install their furniture from here are often happier with them. The company, which sells disassembled furniture instead of selling normal ready-made furniture, has previously announced that this is to reduce costs.
But a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology revealed that this had profound implications for psychology as well. In this context, the IKEA effect emerged and it was seen that the furniture industry covered an area far beyond. Let’s take a look at this concept that explains why children love surprise eggs more and you value the things you make yourself more.
Roughly what is this IKEA effect?
Mike Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely’s point is that we place more value on the things we contribute to finalize it. For example, we can look at children’s toys that come out of surprise eggs. Combining these with a few simple steps, children can spend more time with those toys.
The same goes for LEGOs. The LEGOs, which are loved by both children and adults, come completely disassembled from the box, and when people combine these pieces and look at the final form, they experience the feeling of success to the fullest.
When we look at IKEA’s products, from which the effect is named, we see furniture that is also disassembled. Likewise, it takes time, effort and time to get them to their final form. When everything ends happily, we are together with the feeling of success, as in the previous ones.
Everything seems pretty normal, right? So what makes this a problem then?
What makes this problematic is that we’re almost in love with what we’re putting out. For example, when we make a chair from IKEA and sit on it, we can ignore or even ignore its shaking a little bit. However, when a friend comes, the rocking of the chair may attract his attention more, as he can look at it with a more objective eye. This is exactly what makes this situation problematic: it gets in the way of our objectivity.
To better understand the situation, let’s take a look at a different study
In this study, we have 3 groups. While the first of them is asked to make origami, the second is expected to evaluate only what is made. In the third group, there are people who make origami professionally.
Inexperienced people in the first group are asked to make cranes at first. This group, which naturally did not produce perfect work, is then asked how much they would pay if they wanted to keep their work. After the answers are received, the value of these defective cranes is asked to the second group. But this time, cranes made by experts are also included in the comparison.
- Left to right respectively; The inexperienced group’s valuation of their cranes, the second group’s valuation of the cranes made by the first group, and the second group’s valuation of the cranes made by the experts
As a result, it was seen that the first group found their own figures more valuable than normal. . In the chart, you can see that their valuation competes with that of the experts.
So why does this occur?
The IKEA effect is thought to be caused by a psychological need. This is the need to ‘feel capable’. Let’s say here that this situation has nothing to do with looking talented from the outside. Because the situation is more about being satisfied with ourselves. The sense of achievement that we have been talking about from the beginning also feeds this.
Likewise, when we put it forward, wanting to see money and effort get somewhere and loving things that identify with us more play a big part here. . Lastly, the beautifications we make about the things we put forward, so to speak, also cause this effect to emerge. After all, no one wants their effort to go to waste or to think it’s gone.
In order to be protected from this influence and to be aware of both what we have and those around us, it is necessary to be objective
For this, we need to honestly think about what our needs and wants are. For example, a piece of furniture that you can buy whole from a different place may be a little cheaper than at IKEA. At this point, do you want to pay more to install the furniture in IKEA or just buy the furniture you need and get back to your other work?
Of course, as long as we are honest, we cannot say that one of these options is right and the other is wrong. Because these are the decisions you will make based on your personal preferences. One of the two car collectors can collect LEGO models while the other collects diecast metal models. Which side would you be on in this situation? You can share your thoughts in the comment section.
Sources: Medium, Barış Özcan, The Decision Lab, Pete Judo, Business Insider
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