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Are adjustments insufficient?

Nicholas Epley1, Thomas Gilovich

  • 1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. epley@wjh.harvard.edu

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|April 9, 2004
PubMed
Summary
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Judgmental biases often stem from insufficient adjustment from an initial anchor value. This study shows self-generated anchors trigger adjustment, leading to insufficient adjustment effects in decision-making.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Judgmental biases are frequently attributed to insufficient adjustment from an initial anchor value.
  • Existing evidence for insufficient adjustment primarily originates from experimental paradigms that may not involve actual adjustment processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate between anchor types that activate adjustment processes and those that do not.
  • To provide evidence for insufficient adjustment effects stemming from self-generated anchors.
  • To support theories of social judgment reliant on insufficient adjustment mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Comparing estimates from participants using different self-generated anchor values.
  • Analyzing the degree of adjustment from self-generated anchors versus externally provided uncertain anchors.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparing participant estimates with objective correct answers.

    • Main Results:

    • Self-generated anchors, known to be incorrect but close to the true value, activate adjustment processes.
    • Uncertain anchors provided by an external source do not appear to activate adjustment.
    • Adjustment from self-generated anchors was found to be insufficient.

    Conclusions:

    • The study provides evidence for adjustment-based anchoring effects, distinct from accessibility-based effects.
    • Findings support social judgment theories emphasizing insufficient adjustment as a key mechanism.
    • Distinguishing between anchor types is crucial for understanding judgmental biases.