When My Object Becomes Me: The Mere Ownership of an Object Elevates Domain‐Specific Self‐Efficacy
研究发现，仅仅拥有对自我有用的物品（如阅读材料、巧克力、花精）就能让人觉得自己在该物品相关的领域（如知识、抗困、创造力）能力更强，拓展了“纯粹所有权效应”的边界。
Past research on the mere ownership effect has shown that when people own an object, they perceive the owned objects more favorably than the comparable non‐owned objects. The present research extends this idea, showing that when people own an object functional to the self, they perceive an increase in their self‐efficacy. Three studies were conducted to demonstrate this new form of the mere ownership effect. In Study 1, participants reported an increase in their knowledge level by the mere ownership of reading materials (a reading package in Study 1a, and lecture notes in Study 1b). In Study 2, participants reported an increase in their resilience to sleepiness by merely owning a piece of chocolate that purportedly had a sleepiness‐combating function. In Study 3, participants who merely owned a flower essence that is claimed to boost creativity reported having higher creativity efficacy. The findings provided insights on how associations with objects alter one's self‐perception.