Anchoring
General scientific definition
"A systematic influence of initially presented numerical values on subsequent judgments of uncertain quantities, even when presented numbers are obviously arbitrary and therefore unambiguously irrelevant." (Teovanović, 2019)
"Different starting points yield different estimates, which are biased toward the initial values." (Tversky & Kahneman 1974)
Importantly, the inital values need not be numbers but may also be an initial evaluation of a specific person, phenomenon, thing, etc.
Relevant substantive theories
- Two systems thinking (Kahneman 2011)
Sources
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1738360
Teovanović P. Individual Differences in Anchoring Effect: Evidence for the Role of Insufficient Adjustment. Eur J Psychol. 2019;15(1):8-24. doi:10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1691
Saposnik, G., Redelmeier, D., Ruff, C.C. et al. Cognitive biases associated with medical decisions: a systematic review. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 16, 138 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-016-0377-1
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Examples