IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceco/v58y2015icp195-204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The need to belong and the value of belongings: Does ostracism change the subjective value of personal possessions?

Author

Listed:
  • Walasek, Lukasz
  • Matthews, William J
  • Rakow, Tim

Abstract

A growing body of research has demonstrated that feelings of possession influence the valuation of personal possessions. Psychological theories of ownership suggest that a special bond between a person and his/her possession arises in response to the innate motivation for effectance, self-identity and need for home. However, current empirical support is insufficient to make a causal link between these psychological needs and feelings of ownership. In four studies (total N > 800), we manipulated people's basic needs by inducing feelings of ostracism, which threatens the needs for belonging, self-esteem, control, and belief in a meaningful existence. Despite the fact that these social needs are closely related to the putative antecedents of feelings of ownership, the ostracism manipulation did not significantly affect participants’ feelings of ownership, or their valuations of their possessions, whether measured by willingness to accept or willingness to pay. These results suggest that the special bond that people have with their belongings is not readily used to restore basic psychological needs following the experience of social exclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Walasek, Lukasz & Matthews, William J & Rakow, Tim, 2015. "The need to belong and the value of belongings: Does ostracism change the subjective value of personal possessions?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 195-204.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:195-204
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2015.04.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804315000725
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socec.2015.04.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baer, Markus & Brown, Graham, 2012. "Blind in one eye: How psychological ownership of ideas affects the types of suggestions people adopt," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 60-71.
    2. repec:cup:judgdm:v:2:y:2007:i::p:107-114 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Belk, Russell W, 1988. "Possessions and the Extended Self," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 15(2), pages 139-168, September.
    4. (Xiao-Tian) Wang, X.T. & Ong, Lay See & Tan, Jolene H., 2015. "Sense and sensibility of ownership: Type of ownership experience and valuation of goods," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 171-177.
    5. Mehta, Raj & Belk, Russell W, 1991. "Artifacts, Identity, and Transition: Favorite Possessions of Indians and Indian Immigrants to the United States," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(4), pages 398-411, March.
    6. Katherine E. Loveland & Dirk Smeesters & Naomi Mandel, 2010. "Still Preoccupied with 1995: The Need to Belong and Preference for Nostalgic Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(3), pages 393-408, October.
    7. repec:cup:judgdm:v:6:y:2011:i:8:p:843-856 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Horowitz, John K. & McConnell, Kenneth E., 2002. "A Review of WTA/WTP Studies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 426-447, November.
    9. Locke, John, 1690. "Two Treatises of Government," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number locke1690a.
    10. Charles R. Plott & Kathryn Zeiler, 2005. "The Willingness to Pay–Willingness to Accept Gap, the "Endowment Effect," Subject Misconceptions, and Experimental Procedures for Eliciting Valuations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 530-545, June.
    11. Nicole L. Mead & Roy F. Baumeister & Tyler F. Stillman & Catherine D. Rawn & Kathleen D. Vohs, 2011. "Social Exclusion Causes People to Spend and Consume Strategically in the Service of Affiliation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(5), pages 902-919.
    12. Kelly Tian & Russell W. Belk, 2005. "Extended Self and Possessions in the Workplace," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(2), pages 297-310, September.
    13. Jaehoon Lee & L. J. Shrum, 2012. "Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(3), pages 530-544.
    14. Thomas, Veronica L. & Yeh, Marie & Jewell, Robert D., 2015. "Enhancing valuation: the impact of self-congruence with a brand on the endowment effect," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 178-185.
    15. repec:cup:judgdm:v:5:y:2010:i:5:p:411-419 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Grayson, Kent & Shulman, David, 2000. "Indexicality and the Verification Function of Irreplaceable Possessions: A Semiotic Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 27(1), pages 17-30, June.
    17. Joann Peck & Suzanne B. Shu, 2009. "The Effect of Mere Touch on Perceived Ownership," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 434-447.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuntao Bai & Lili Lu & Li Lin-Schilstra, 2022. "Auxiliaries to Abusive Supervisors: The Spillover Effects of Peer Mistreatment on Employee Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(1), pages 219-237, June.
    2. Kamleitner, Bernadette & Dickert, Stephan, 2015. "The two faces of ownership: Introduction to the special section on ownership and economic decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 159-161.
    3. Donald G. Gardner & Jon L. Pierce & Feng Lv, 2022. "An Empirical Examination of the Genesis of Psychological Ownership," Merits, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Thomas, Veronica L. & Yeh, Marie & Jewell, Robert D., 2015. "Enhancing valuation: the impact of self-congruence with a brand on the endowment effect," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 178-185.
    5. Kirk, Colleen P. & McSherry, Bernard & Swain, Scott D., 2015. "Investing the self: The effect of nonconscious goals on investor psychological ownership and word-of-mouth intentions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 186-194.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shrum, L.J. & Wong, Nancy & Arif, Farrah & Chugani, Sunaina K. & Gunz, Alexander & Lowrey, Tina M. & Nairn, Agnes & Pandelaere, Mario & Ross, Spencer M. & Ruvio, Ayalla & Scott, Kristin & Sundie, Jill, 2013. "Reconceptualizing materialism as identity goal pursuits: Functions, processes, and consequences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1179-1185.
    2. Kamleitner, Bernadette & Dickert, Stephan, 2015. "The two faces of ownership: Introduction to the special section on ownership and economic decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 159-161.
    3. Daniel Villanova, 2019. "The extended self, product valuation, and the endowment effect," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 9(3), pages 357-371, December.
    4. Liu, Fu & Wei, Haiying & Zhu, Zhenzhong & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2022. "Warmth or competence: Brand anthropomorphism, social exclusion, and advertisement effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Kirk, Colleen P. & McSherry, Bernard & Swain, Scott D., 2015. "Investing the self: The effect of nonconscious goals on investor psychological ownership and word-of-mouth intentions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 186-194.
    6. Masset, Julie & Decrop, Alain, 2016. "“God, I have so many ashtrays!” Dependences and dependencies in consumer–possession relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 94-109.
    7. D’Souza, Clare & Apaolaza, Vanessa & Hartmann, Patrick & Nguyen, Ninh, 2023. "The consequence of possessions: Self-identity, extended self, psychological ownership and probabilities of purchase for pet’s fashion clothing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Fernandez, Karen V., 2020. "PROVE it! A practical primer to positioning theoretically," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 57-64.
    9. Zheng, Xiaoying & Xu, Jing & Shen, Hao, 2022. "To be respected or liked: The influence of social comparisons on consumer preference for competence- versus warmth-oriented products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 170-189.
    10. Potdar, Balkrushna & Guthrie, John & Gnoth, Juergen & Garry, Tony, 2018. "The role of psychological ownership in shoplifting prevention: An exploratory study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 253-265.
    11. Liu, Runqiu & Jiang, Jian & Yu, Chao & Rodenbiker, Jesse & Jiang, Yongmu, 2021. "The endowment effect accompanying villagers' withdrawal from rural homesteads: Field evidence from Chengdu, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    12. Charan K. Bagga & Neil Bendle & June Cotte, 2019. "Object valuation and non-ownership possession: how renting and borrowing impact willingness-to-pay," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 97-117, January.
    13. Kumar, Jitender, 2024. "Psychological mechanisms behind access-based luxury brand consumption: Empirical investigation from the lens of new ownership paradigm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    14. Ashworth, Laurence & Darke, Peter R. & McShane, Lindsay & Vu, Tiffany, 2019. "The rules of exchange: The role of an exchange surplus in producing the endowment effect," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 11-24.
    15. Thomas M. Zellweger & Franz W. Kellermanns & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua, 2012. "Family Control and Family Firm Valuation by Family CEOs: The Importance of Intentions for Transgenerational Control," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 851-868, June.
    16. Christopher L. Newman & Melissa D. Cinelli & Douglas Vorhies & Judith Anne Garretson Folse, 2019. "Benefitting a few at the expense of many? Exclusive promotions and their impact on untargeted customers," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 76-96, January.
    17. Elodie Gentina & L. J. Shrum & Tina M. Lowrey, 2018. "Coping with Loneliness Through Materialism: Strategies Matter for Adolescent Development of Unethical Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 103-122, September.
    18. Colucci, Domenico & Franco, Chiara & Valori, Vincenzo, 2024. "The endowment effect with different possession times and types of items," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    19. Zheng, Xiaoying & Baskin, Ernest & Peng, Siqing, 2018. "Feeling inferior, showing off: The effect of nonmaterial social comparisons on conspicuous consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 196-205.
    20. Khalifa, Dina & Shukla, Paurav, 2017. "Me, my brand and I: Consumer responses to luxury brand rejection," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 156-162.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:195-204. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620175 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.