"Behavioral science proves that when people see effort, the trust, satisfaction, and perceived value increase dramatically - like a child who draws a birthday card or the dinner host who cooks a lavish meal. Psychologists call this the labor illusion. Customers don't just judge your outputs; they judge the process. If your Starbucks barista puts extra effort into your oat cappuccino, you conclude better service. It's why you pay more for handcrafts, open-kitchen cooking, and bespoke tailoring."
""It was made in 10 minutes by AI." - Low effort "It took a week at a specialist agency."- Medium effort "It took three months with an agency and Japanese origami artist." - High effort Trust rose sharply with visible effort. In the AI condition, only 38% trusted the brand. But in the high effort condition, 59% did - and rated higher ad creativity and appeal."
Customers evaluate both outputs and the effort behind them, so visible labor amplifies trust, satisfaction, and perceived value. Behavioral science labels this the labor illusion and connects it to the IKEA effect, where people overvalue items they helped create. Experiments show ads described as high-effort earned substantially more trust and higher creativity ratings than ads labeled as AI-made. Service examples include paying more for handcrafts, bespoke tailoring, and restaurants with open kitchens; brands use visible-process cues like Domino's pizza tracker and Uber driver tracking to signal effort. Demonstrating effort can protect pricing and strengthen brand relationships.
Read at Inc
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]