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Behavioural Economics - The IKEA effect
25th September 2011
If you have ever spent a frustrating afternoon assembling IKEA furniture but then stood back and admired your incredible craftmanship then you might be interested in reading this research from behavioural economists on the value we attach to items we have personally assembled or mashed up as a group. Here is the actual research document.
There might be a classroom experiment here? Cross-curricular links with the home-economics department could be cultivated by getting your students to make some cakes or pancakes with ready mix packets (eggs, sugar, water etc) and then asking how much they value the finished product? Turns out that valuation does depend on getting the job done - imagine the effect if you were half way through a cooking session and you told your students to throw everything away into the bin!
Dan Ariely writes about this aspects of behavioural economics here And below there is a link to a super 5 minute video from him on the IKEA effect!
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.