Bumped: The Effects of Stock Ownership on Individual Spending

the “endowment effect” because, in economists’ lingo, the stuff you own is part of your endowment, and I had stumbled upon a finding that suggested people valued things that were already part of their endowment more highly than things that could be part of their endowment, that were available but not yet owned.

According to the 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study, 78 percent of Americans will buy a brand for the first time based solely on the brand’s position on a controversial topic. Half of people make purchases based on companies’ beliefs or values. Fifty-one percent will be more loyal buyers of a brand that speaks up compared with those that remain

Investments in a product create preferences because of our tendency to overvalue our work, be consistent with past behaviors, and avoid cognitive dissonance.