THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LABOR ILLUSION

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

The Labor Illusion explains why people may value something more when they think it takes a lot of effort. For example, a study found that homebuyers rated apartments 36% better if they'd been told a real estate agent had spent 9 hours researching, compared to a group told that their agent spent 1 hour. Brands can use this psychological principle by telling prospects in ads how much work went into the product, showing the thought process behind outcomes in product descriptions, or copying the scarcity and exclusivity in Hermes' buying process.