The Influence of Collaboration and Culture on the IKEA Effect: Does Cocreation Alter Perceptions of Value in British and Indian Children?

Creating objects can increase our evaluation of them, even when we compare them to physically identical copies (IKEA effect). Here we evaluate the influence of collaboration on the IKEA effect in two societies--the United Kingdom and India. One hundred twenty-eight 5-to-6-year-old children (48% fema...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopmental psychology Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 662 - 670
Main Authors Marsh, Lauren E, Gil, Joanna, Kanngiesser, Patricia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Psychological Association 01.04.2022
Subjects
Bias
Child
Children
Cooperation
Cross Cultural Studies
Cultural Influences
Female
Foreign Countries
Humans
India
Male
Manufacturing
Play and Playthings
Psychology, Child
United Kingdom
Value Judgment
United Kingdom
India
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Summary:Creating objects can increase our evaluation of them, even when we compare them to physically identical copies (IKEA effect). Here we evaluate the influence of collaboration on the IKEA effect in two societies--the United Kingdom and India. One hundred twenty-eight 5-to-6-year-old children (48% female, 50% British middle class, 50% Indian middle class) assembled toys in pairs. Half of the children collaborated to assemble a single toy and half assembled their own toy. In both societies, children demonstrated an IKEA effect (?2p = .19), valuing their own creation over an identical copy. This was the case regardless of whether children collaborated or worked independently. In summary, it seems that the IKEA effect is a potent bias that is present in diverse societies and is insensitive to others' contributions in a collaborative environment.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/dev0001321