Endowment Effect

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Endowment Effect

People overvalue things that they own.

Featured in 45 UX Bites

Similar psychology:

Hyperbolic Discounting

Likely impacts:

Sharing and Referrals

Perception of Value

Happiness & Enjoyment

Purchases

Last updated: 23/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

You could let users preview and interact with a paid version of their own profile, so the upgrade already feels like theirs, leaning on the endowment effect.

Example from

Discord

Try showing when users joined as a badge on their profile. It turns tenure into something they own, so the endowment effect may make the account harder to leave.

Example from

ChatGPT

You could offer an on-brand avatar builder, so users invest effort in a profile picture that feels like theirs, strengthening the endowment effect on their account.

Example from

Notion

Try asking users to pick titles during onboarding, then use those picks to frame the library, so it feels like a collection they own, not a generic catalogue.

Book selection interface shows 12 book covers; arrow points to "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" in Library tab. Text highlights saving summaries to Library page.

Example from

Headway

You could show an icon each time the experience adapts to user answers, reminding them it's becoming uniquely theirs, which may deepen the endowment effect.

UI shows a progress bar, question "Did your focus or anxiety improve after last session?" with Yes/No teal buttons and a grey "Not sure" link; speech bubble notes personalized training.

Example from

Balance

Possible impacts

Users who have personalised their account may feel a sense of ownership, so the endowment effect could reduce churn, as leaving means losing something that feels theirs.

As seen in:

ChatGPT A profile worth keeping

Because people overvalue what they feel they own, users may feel they should make more use of features they already pay for, which could increase feature usage.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this

Headway Framing the value of a library

Users who have created something that feels like theirs, e.g., a custom design or profile, may be keen to show it off, which could increase sharing and referrals.

As seen in:

Duolingo Sharing your checkmate

Spotify A well-timed nudge

Letting users personalise or preview a product as their own could increase its perceived value, as the endowment effect makes owned things feel worth more than market price.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this

ChatGPT A profile worth keeping

Knowing something is truly theirs may make the experience more enjoyable, so building a sense of ownership could increase users' happiness and enjoyment.

As seen in:

Notion Notion's avatar builders

Letting users customise or preview a paid version before buying could increase purchases, as the endowment effect makes it harder to abandon something that feels theirs.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 17/08/2023

How to utilise this in your designs

You could let users preview and interact with a paid version of their own profile, so the upgrade already feels like theirs, leaning on the endowment effect.

Example from

Discord

Try showing when users joined as a badge on their profile. It turns tenure into something they own, so the endowment effect may make the account harder to leave.

Example from

ChatGPT

You could offer an on-brand avatar builder, so users invest effort in a profile picture that feels like theirs, strengthening the endowment effect on their account.

Example from

Notion

Try asking users to pick titles during onboarding, then use those picks to frame the library, so it feels like a collection they own, not a generic catalogue.

Example from

Headway

You could show an icon each time the experience adapts to user answers, reminding them it's becoming uniquely theirs, which may deepen the endowment effect.

Example from

Balance

Possible impacts

Users who have personalised their account may feel a sense of ownership, so the endowment effect could reduce churn, as leaving means losing something that feels theirs.

As seen in:

ChatGPT A profile worth keeping

Because people overvalue what they feel they own, users may feel they should make more use of features they already pay for, which could increase feature usage.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this

Headway Framing the value of a library

Users who have created something that feels like theirs, e.g., a custom design or profile, may be keen to show it off, which could increase sharing and referrals.

As seen in:

Duolingo Sharing your checkmate

Spotify A well-timed nudge

Letting users personalise or preview a product as their own could increase its perceived value, as the endowment effect makes owned things feel worth more than market price.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this

ChatGPT A profile worth keeping

Knowing something is truly theirs may make the experience more enjoyable, so building a sense of ownership could increase users' happiness and enjoyment.

As seen in:

Notion Notion's avatar builders

Letting users customise or preview a paid version before buying could increase purchases, as the endowment effect makes it harder to abandon something that feels theirs.

As seen in:

Discord Your profile could look like this