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After witnessing the violent rage
shown by babies

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whenever deprived of an item
they considered their own,

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Jean Piaget, a founding father
of child psychology,

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observed something profound
about human nature.

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Our sense of ownership emerges
incredibly early.

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Why are we so clingy?

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There's a well-established phenomenon
in psychology

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known as the endowment effect

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where we value items much more highly
just as soon as we own them.

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In one famous demonstration,

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students were given a choice
between a coffee mug

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or a Swiss chocolate bar

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as a reward for helping out with research.

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Half chose the mug,
and half chose the chocolate.

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That is, they seemed to value
the two rewards similarly.

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Other students were given a mug first

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and then a surprise chance to swap it
for a chocolate bar,

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but only 11% wanted to.

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Yet another group 
started out with chocolate,

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and most preferred to keep it
rather than swap.

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In other words, the students nearly
always put greater value

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on whichever reward they started out with.

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Part of this has to do with how quickly
we form connections

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between our sense of self
and the things we consider ours.

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That can even be seen at the neural level.

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In one experiment, neuroscientists scanned
participants' brains

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while they allocated various objects
either to a basket labeled "mine,"

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or another labeled, "Alex's."

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When participants subsequently looked at
their new things,

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their brains showed more activity

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in a region that usually 
flickers into life

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whenever we think about ourselves.

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Another reason we're so fond
of our possessions

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is that from a young age
we believe they have a unique essence.

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Psychologists showed us this by using
an illusion

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to convince three to six-year-olds
they built a copying machine,

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a device that could create perfect
replicas of any item.

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When offered a choice between 
their favorite toy

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or an apparently exact copy,

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the majority of the children
favored the original.

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In fact, they were often horrified
at the prospect of taking home a copy.

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This magical thinking about objects
isn't something we grow out of.

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Rather it persists into adulthood
while becoming ever more elaborate.

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For example, consider the huge value
placed on items

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that have been owned by celebrities.

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It's as if the buyers believed the objects
they'd purchased

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were somehow imbued with the essence
of their former celebrity owners.

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For similar reasons, many of us are
reluctant to part with family heirlooms

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which help us feel connected
to lost loved ones.

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These beliefs can even alter 
our perception of the physical world

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and change our athletic abilities.

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Participants in a recent study were told
they were using a golf putter

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once owned by the champion Ben Curtis.

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During the experiment,

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they perceived the hole as being 
about a centimeter larger

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than controlled participants 
using a standard putter

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and they sank slightly more putts.

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Although feelings of ownership emerge
early in life, culture also plays a part.

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For example, it was recently discovered
that Hadza people of northern Tanzania

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who are isolated from modern culture

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don't exhibit the endowment effect.

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That's possibly because they live
in an egalitarian society

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where almost everything is shared.

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At the other extreme, sometimes our
attachment to our things can go too far.

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Part of the cause of hoarding disorder
is an exaggerated sense of responsibility

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and protectiveness 
toward one's belongings.

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That's why people with this condition find
it so difficult to throw anything away.

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What remains to be seen today

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is how the nature of our relationship
with our possessions

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will change with the rise 
of digital technologies.

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Many have forecast the demise
of physical books and music,

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but for now, at least, 
this seems premature.

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Perhaps there will always be something
uniquely satisfying

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about holding an object in our hands
and calling it our own.