anchoring effect
Initial estimate stickiness
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they encounter when making decisions.
An initial number or value—the anchor—disproportionately influences subsequent judgments, even when the anchor is arbitrary or irrelevant.
The listing price set an anchor that made the final sale price seem like a bargain.
The effect appears throughout negotiation, pricing, and estimation tasks.
- cognitive biasSystematic deviation from rationality
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- heuristicPractical solving shortcut
- mental shortcutQuick cognitive approximation
- cognitiveRelating to thinking
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