The Librarian Guide to Cognitive Bias: Anchoring

Sometimes you just get fixed on an idea.

I first encountered the idea of anchoring in my reading of economics, especially that exciting sub-field that combines psychology and economics (sometimes called behavioural economics). Anchoring can be defined as just getting fixated on a single idea, even if other options are better for you. As with other important cognitive biases, it was first thought up by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky several decades ago but it is one of those ideas that takes some time to understand. It stikes me as similar to the halo effect; the bias where if you think positively about a person in general, you’ll tend to view all aspects of that person positively even if it is not warranted. Anchoring, like the other cognitive biases discussed in this series, is all about taking shortcuts and trying to save thinking time. Unlike the other biases discussed though, anchoring most likely leads to problems; I struggle to see any benefit from allowing anchoring to happen. If you think that anchoring can be truly worthwhile, then I’d welcome you to comment and share your view.

The Research on Anchoring

Happily, there are plenty of studies concerning anchoring covering everything from information behaviour, to real estate to business. In a 2007 article, Annie Lau and Enrico Coiera found that anchoring has effects in searching for information; it limits what you can find. As they state in their abstract, “A person’s prior belief (anchoring) has a significant impact on their post-search answer.” Their research also confirms a bit of folk search engine wisdom; if a document or item is listed early in the search results, it is more likely to be used. I’ve actually encountered quite a few occasions where the top results have very little value. So, it pays to scan through at least a few dozen search results rather than just look at the first handful.

Anchoring also exerts an influence in the world of charities and donations. Two economists, Richard Martin and John Randal, experimented with a donation box at an art museum where admission was free. They wanted to see if different kinds of information – e.g. showing only large denomination bills in the box versus coins or small denomination notes – influenced the donation behaviour. It looks like it did. That also explains why most fundraisers suggest amounts ($50, $100 or more) and partly explains why I ignore those people standing on the street trying to raise funds. The options you present to people have an anchoring effect to encourage people to choose an option that is listed. It reminds me of the fact that some coffee shops provide small coffees but don’t list it on the menu, you can only get it by request. I may be taking some liberties with the research but I think it all makes sense.

Set sail and overcome anchoring

Overcoming anchoring and setting sail into better thinking (ha, I’m enjoying the nautical metaphors too much clearly) is a tricky since anchoring can be quite subtle. Here are some strategies that could help you overcome this cognitive bias and think better.

• Ask for other options: You’re give three options and none of them appeal to you; ask for some other options.
• Deconstruct it!: Think about the case of donations to the art museum above; how is your thinking and approach being shaped? Do you accept how it is being shaped?
• Anchor yourself: Ramit Sehti, the personal finance/entrepreneurship author, is a big fan of using psychology to constrain yourself and make better choices. Can you find a way to use anchoring to make better decisions? Maybe change your default search engine for a few days and see what happens?

References:

Ariely, Dan. Predictably Irrational. You can get the book and blog that really started me thinking about this whole topic.

Martin, Richard and Randal, John. How is donation behaviour affected by the donations of others?. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2008

Lau, Annie YS and Coiera, Enrico W. “Do People Experience Cognitive Biases while Searching for Information?“, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2007

More than two dozen great papers on cognitive biases can be read (and quite a few read for free!) on Dan Ariely’s list of academic papers.

Related posts:

1. The Librarian Guide to Cognitive Bias
2. The Librarian Guide to Cognitive Bias: Confirmation Bias
3. The Librarian Guide to Cognitive Bias: Fundamental Attribution Error
4. The Librarian Guide to Cognitive Bias: Availability heuristic