Why might someone value an IKEA table more after building it themselves than after simply receiving it assembled?

Answer: Ownership feeling

Lower list price — Lower list price is tempting because IKEA furniture is often associated with affordability. But the IKEA effect is about subjective valuation after personal labor, not simply paying less. A cheaper tag can make buying easier without explaining why building increases attachment.

Clear instructions — Clear instructions are plausible because a smooth build can make the experience less frustrating. But instructions are a helper, not the psychological mechanism. The extra value comes from the builder feeling connected to the finished object.

Ownership feeling ✓ — Ownership feeling captures the IKEA effect: personal labor can make a standard object feel more like one's own creation. The original paper found higher valuation for self-assembled products, and a later conceptual replication linked the effect to psychological ownership. The surprise is that work can add value instead of subtracting it.