Colleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, discusses shopper psychological ownership and territoriality in The Academic Minute. According to Dr. Kirk, psychological ownership is what happens when “shoppers feel the delight of discovering that perfect something.” Dr. Kirk and her colleagues’ research shows that consumers show psychological ownership in three ways. These ways include sharing “intimate knowledge of something,” claiming control or ownership of something “such as when you put something in your shopping bag,” and when you customize something. Dr. Kirk explains that psychological ownership can lead to territorial behavior, and companies need to be aware of this because it can dissuade a consumer from purchasing a specific product.

Dr. Kirk describes how their research found that people who felt psychological ownership over something “felt infringed when others communicated their own psychological ownership of the same things.” According to Dr. Kirk, when consumers feel infringed, there are negative consequences for the business and the other customer who showed psychological ownership of the same product. Additionally, Dr. Kirk states, “We even observed retaliatory behavior: when an infringing person dropped a dollar bill or a pen, the infringed person was less likely to mention it.”

Dr. Kirk and her colleagues’ research shows that it is important for businesses to understand psychological ownership and territoriality in order to avoid the negative consequences that infringing on someone’s psychological ownership could cause.

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By Konstance Teleisha