Intangible Items and the Lost and Found Effect

A pilot study was carried out to search for a Lost and Found Effect on intangible items. 54 participants (17 male) with a mean age of 18.37 years were recruited from an undergraduate population. Participants read three scenarios. In the first, participants were told that they had lost and then found the details of one date but never lost the details of another date and asked which one they would attend. In the second, participants were told that they had lost and then found one seat reservation but never lost another seat reservation and asked which reservation they would use. In the third, participants were told that they had either lost and found a festival ticket or never lost the ticket and asked how much they would sell the ticket for. The hypothesis that participants would favor lost and found dates over never lost dates was not supported. The hypothesis that participants would favor lost and found seats over never lost seats was supported. The hypothesis that participants would value a lost and found ticket more than a never lost ticket was not supported. Waste aversion was postulated as a potential explanation for results.