The Effect of Ownership History on the Valuation of Objects

Previous work on the endowment effect has demonstrated that current ownership status affects object valuation and that this effect occurs instantaneously on possession of an object. The current work presents findings from four studies which indicate that the history of past ownership can also affect object valuation. For objects currently in one's possession, we find that valuation increases with duration of ownership. For objects not in one's possession, previous ownership experience increases valuation, and the increase appears to be related to the duration of ownership before loss. In addition, the perceived attractiveness of objects, although not instantly affected by endowment, is found to increase with duration of ownership. Copyright 1998 by the University of Chicago.