title: For whom is parting with possessions more painful? Cultural differences in the endowment effect.
abstract: The endowment effect--the tendency for owners (potential sellers) to value objects more than potential buyers do--is among the most widely studied judgment and decision-making phenomena. However, the current research is the first to explore whether the effect varies across cultures. Given previously demonstrated cultural differences in self-construals and self-enhancement, we predicted a smaller endowment effect for East Asians compared with Westerners. Two studies involving buyers and sellers of a coffee mug (Study 1a) and a box of chocolates (Study 1b) supported this prediction. Study 2 conceptually replicated this cultural difference by experimentally manipulating independent and interdependent self-construals. Finally, Study 3 provided evidence for an underlying self-enhancement mechanism: Cultural differences emerged when self-object associations were made salient, but disappeared when self-object associations were minimized. Thus, the endowment effect may be influenced by the degree to which independence and self-enhancement (vs. interdependence and self-criticism) are culturally valued or normative.
authors.affiliation: INSEAD, Organisational Behaviour Area, Boulevard de Constance, Fontainebleau, France. william.maddux@insead.edu
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Maddux
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.forename: Hajo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: Wendi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Adair
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Ziv
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Carmon
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Heine
mesh_terms: D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D003132:Commerce; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010067:Ownership; D012380:Role; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology