Glossary
Psychological Ownership
The feeling that something is mine or ours, whether or not legal ownership exists.
Definition
Psychological ownership is a sense of possessiveness and personal connection toward an object, place, role, idea, or organization. Research commonly examines control, intimate knowledge, and personal investment as routes through which this feeling can develop.
Origin
The concept was developed in organizational and consumer research to distinguish a felt sense of ownership from formal legal title.
Usage in luxury
Customization, care, repeated use, research, and participation in an object's story may strengthen a sense that it is personally ours. This does not mean every owned object becomes part of identity.
Examples
- - Feeling attached to a watch worn through important milestones
- - Feeling that a restored chair reflects one's own care and effort
Related terms
Related reading
Sources and further reading
- Toward a Psychology of Ownership and Property - American Psychologist (1990)