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Related Experiment Videos

Anchoring in time estimation.

Kevin E Thomas1, Simon J Handley

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland. kthomas@tcd.ie

Acta Psychologica
|February 6, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Previous task duration influences future time estimates. Shorter anchors lead to underestimation, while longer anchors cause overestimation, demonstrating a clear anchoring effect on task duration predictions.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Time estimation is prone to biases.
  • The anchoring effect, where initial information influences subsequent judgments, is a known cognitive bias.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test an anchoring account of future task duration misestimation.
  • To investigate how prior task duration (anchor) affects predictions of a focal task's duration.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted where participants estimated task duration.
  • Participants selected an anchor (previous task duration) that was either shorter or longer than the focal task.
  • Anchors were derived from the same or different tasks.

Main Results:

  • Misestimation of task duration was significantly influenced by the anchor's relative duration.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Shorter anchors led to underestimation of the focal task duration.
  • Longer anchors led to overestimation of the focal task duration.

    • Conclusions:

    • Prior task experience, specifically its duration, acts as an anchor, distorting future time estimates.
    • The findings support the anchoring account of task duration misestimation.
    • The relative duration of the anchor significantly moderates the anchoring effect on time perception.