What if it isn’t love that leads to labor, but labor that leads to love? That is the question Tulane University marketing professor Daniel Mochon cheerfully discusses on Morning Edition today – and how IKEA plays a role in our sense of competence.

People made to feel incompetent may be more vulnerable to the Ikea Effect.

“…people attach greater value to things they built than if the very same product was built by someone else. And in new experiments, researchers have discovered why it happens: Building your own stuff boosts your feelings of pride and competence, and also signals to others that you are competent.”