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| Research article summary (published 30 Dec 2001): |
The malleability of anchoring effects.
Full Abstract
Anchoring effects--the assimilation of a numeric estimate to a previously considered standard--are typically described as very robust and persistent. Based on the assumption that judgmental anchoring involves a hypothesis-testing process in which judges actively seek and generate judgment-relevant target knowledge, it was assumed that anchoring effects might at the same time be fairly malleable. Specifically, subtle influences that change the nature of the tested hypothesis are likely to affect the magnitude of anchoring. Using a procedural priming task, judges were induced to focus on similarities versus differences during a series of anchoring tasks. The results demonstrate that the magnitude of the obtained effect critically depended on this manipulation. In particular, a more pronounced anchoring assimilation effect resulted for judges with a similarity rather than a difference focus. Implications of these findings for models of anchoring as well as for the nature of the anchoring phenomenon are discussed.
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Author information
Author/s: Mussweiler, Thomas (T);
Affiliation: University of Würzburg, Germany. mussweiler(-atsign-)psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Experimental psychology (Exp Psychol), published in Germany. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-; vol 49 (issue 1) : pp 67-72
Dates: Created 2002/04/26; Completed 2002/05/28; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 11975151, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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