People tend to value objects more simply because they own them. Prior research indicates that people underestimate the impact of this endowment effect on both their own and other people’s preferences.We show that underestimating the endowment effect and hence owners’ selling prices can lead...

In 5 studies, the authors examined people's perceptions of the endowment effect, or the tendency to value an object more once one owns it. In the 1st 2 studies, the authors documented egocentric empathy gaps between owners and buyers regarding the endowment effect: Both owners and buyers...

People exhibit an "illusion of courage" when predicting their own behavior in embarrassing situations. In three experiments, participants overestimated their own willingness to engage in embarrassing public performances in exchange for money when those performances were psychologically distant:...

People tend to value objects more highly simply because they own them. Prior research indicates that people underestimate the impact of this endowment effect on both their own and other people's preferences. We show that underestimation of the endowment effect can lead to suboptimal behavior in...