Ikea Effect
The Ikea Effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when we overstate the value of something because we built it.
When you build something, even if it's cheap Ikea furniture that you assemble according to instructions, you tend to attach greater importance or value to it because you're more keenly aware of the effort that went into creating it.
This bias is dangerous when it comes to software that we build or code that we write. We don't want to believe that we've done something wrong or inefficient. Our tendency will always be to believe that what we've made can't possibly be the cause for failure, even though we know that's irrational.
The Ikea Effect leads us to miss obvious clues about failure, causing us to sometimes make irrational assumptions about the root cause.
Last updated