Would you buy it, keep it, or sell it?
A reference point can make giving up an owned item feel unlike buying the same item.
Inside this model
A neutral benchmark buys if value exceeds price and sells if price exceeds value. The play panel asks for both choices without claiming a fixed human bias; the chart shows net value = personal value−price across prices.
Out in the world
A practical use
Compare a seller's asking price with what they would pay to acquire the same object.
A useful lens. Not a universal law.
- Ownership effects vary by context; the simple value/price calculation is a benchmark, not a psychological prediction.
Associated thinkers
Further reading
Explore the original research or the teaching reference behind this experiment.
Richard Thaler — Nobel Prize Lecture ↗