I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier.

I've been working on a book of aphorisms.

I'm writing my own aphorisms and collecting my favorite aphorisms written by other people.

But I have to say this project keeps expanding.

Now I'm also collecting proverbs of the professions, my own secrets of adulthood,

and all kinds of quirky lists on odd subjects.

One of those lists contains examples of times when people have done something

that to me shows a profound understanding of how people think and behave.

For instance, I'm fascinated by the actions of companies and organizations

that have taken advantage of one particular quirk of human nature.

We often value things according to how much they cost us.

There is a phenomenon called the Ikea effect,

which gets its name from the popular Swedish store with cells furniture

that people assembled themselves.

Studies show that if we feel we've made or created something ourselves,

we view our creation more favorably.

When we work harder on something, we tend to value it more highly.

This boost comes from the feeling of self-efficacy that we get from

making something and also from the fact that if we put effort into a task,

we tend to believe that our work was well justified.

Ikea isn't the only company to take advantage of this effect.

In the 1950s, when instant cake mixes were introduced, they didn't sell very well.

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