The baker's advice matters! Multiple anchoring in legal decision-making

Since the seminal work of Tversky & Kahneman (Science, 185:1124-1131, 1974), the anchoring effect has generated considerable interest and its effects have been extensively documented in numerous everyday situations. However, few studies have paid attention to the influence of multiple successive anchors. To analyze how the presentation of a second anchor influences legal decision-making depending on its relevance, we conducted two studies. In both experiments, participants were asked to read a text describing a trial in which two anchors (one relevant given by a prosecutor in Experiment 1 (N = 538) or a magistrate in Experiment 2 (N = 284), the other less relevant given by a baker) appeared in succession. The results show an anchoring effect when there is one anchor (relevant and less relevant). However, the effect of a relevant anchor disappears in the presence of a contradictory less relevant anchor. We discuss the psychological processes underlying this phenomenon.