Mine’s Better Than Yours!
There may be an underlying psychological mechanism behind the title. Have you ever thought that your item was better than someone else’s, even though it was pretty much identical to others? Perhaps your new 3G iPhone is better than your friend’s? Maybe your spag bol tasted better than someone else’s? Or was it the new dress you just bought for a special occasion – looking better than hers???
Sound familiar?
This is called The Endowment Effect. An individual possesses a higher value or quality to an item now that it has come into their possession. “It is mine and it is better than yours!” First theorised by Richard Thaler, a lot of research has been carried out on this idea, but have usually thought it to be a human quality.
However, now a fair number of research suggests otherwise. A recent experiment involving chimpanzees (Jones & Brosnan, 2008) has shown that in fact, it supports an idea that this quality is evident in other species as well, more so in close primates.
A criticism mind you of this experiment is the size of the sample – 33 chimps are hardly representative of the chimpanzee population, and as also as they are close primate relatives, it doesn’t really show us that it’s very evident in other species.
Still, research such as these gives us an insight to the possibility of finding surprises under the tree, and opens up further research.
Jones, O.D., Brosnan, S.F. (2008). Law, Biology, and Property: A New Theory of the Endowment Effect. William & Mary Law Review, 49
My Psychological Ramblings... 
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