You love the Ikea chair you built because you need validation

Chances are, you own a piece of Ikea furniture. Did you build it yourself? Is it wobbly? Are there leftover nails and screws? Does it matter? Apparently not. That’s the Ikea Effect. That’s the term applied when you love yourself for building something, even it’s done poorly. Experiments have shown that people attach greater value to even the crappiest things they build because it boosts feelings of pride and competence — which is a bit like a monkey feeling good about not throwing his poop. People who feel incompetent are more susceptible to the Ikea Effect, and on the flipside, with a boost of self-esteem, people feel less of a need to prove their worth by making bad furniture. [Source]

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