The Unique-Naming Effect: When Labeling Leads to Love

Names serve to distinguish individuals and serve important cultural functions, yet little attention is given to the act of giving names and the qualities a name confers upon its owner. The present study showed that individuals have a special preference for unique entities that they have named themselves over identical entities without a name or named by others. This unique-naming effect was evident in three experiments and the effect does not appear to be mediated by a sense of ownership or empathic concern (Experiment 1). Furthermore, the unique-naming effect was observed for inanimate objects and was not mediated by emotional reactivity (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 controlled for alternative explanations such as depth of processing and preference for self-generated names. A number of features distinguish the unique-naming effect from endowment effects, and the unique-naming effect may be useful to help distinguish between the theoretical constructs of ownership and extensions of self. Possible mechanisms are discussed, and a practical application of the unique-naming effect is suggested.