Association as a Psychological Justification for Ownership

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Abstract
As noted by legal scholars (e.g., Saks, 1986), little research has been conducted on the psychology of ownership decision making. The present research examined this issue within a psychological framework which showed that an individual's judgments about a target can be affected by the presence of an association between the target and another entity. In three experiments, subjects were asked to resolve a dispute between two parties over possession of an object. In Study 1, subjects judged that the person pictured with an object had a stronger claim of ownership over it. Study 2 showed that prior use was a justification for ownership and that past investment in an object (in terms of working with it) was a justification for ownership, a finding replicated in the third study. In Study 3, the intentions of the disputants affected the strength of their perceived claim of ownership.

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