Why do people feel attached to the same seat on public transport?
People become attached to places long before they own them.
Nobody owns the seat.
Yet people act as if they do.
The hidden mechanism is temporary ownership.
Humans quickly become attached to familiar spaces.
The same seat means the same view.
The same distance from the exit.
The same expectations.
Researchers call this the endowment effect.
People value things more once they feel connected to them.
Ownership does not have to be legal.
Sometimes it is purely psychological.
People think they choose the same seat out of habit.
Very often, they choose it because familiarity quietly transforms spaces into possessions.
