Effects of Ownership. It refers to valuing what one owns from one’s own perspective. The competition to buy tickets for the Duke University basketball game was very fierce, so the university decided to distribute tickets through a lottery. Some students applied for the same ticket, and among them, the winning students and dropout students were asked about their valuations: the winners were asked how much they would sell the ticket for, while the dropout students were asked how much they would buy it for. The lowest selling price from the winners was $2,410, whereas the highest buying price from the dropout students was $170. The difference was substantial. When asked why they thought so, ticket holders considered the value of giving up the ticket, while ticket buyers considered the value of exchanging cash for it. In other words, possession represented the benefit of sacrificing something else. Value judgments depend on what we own. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Human behavior and psychology are tricky and complex. If you ask someone who prefers short-term gains, “Would you like to get $1,000 now or $1,020 a year from now,” the person will choose the former. However, if you change the question, “Would you like to get $1,000 in 10 years or $1,020 in 11 years,” people will choose the latter. The taking of time and possessiveness are even under the same conditions, they make different choices. These two dominate the human personality. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”