Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M4708

Anchoring Effect

Anchoring Effect
Learn & MetacognitionHigh supportCognitive Psychology
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Updated 2026-08-02

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Documented by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, anchoring describes how an initial value becomes a reference point from which people adjust insufficiently. In their wheel-of-fortune experiment, participants who spun a low number gave far lower estimates of the share of African nations in the United Nations than those who spun a high number, despite knowing the number was random. The bias affects experts as well as novices and persists even when people are warned about it. Key qualification: anchors shift estimates toward themselves, but the size of the shift varies with attention and motivation.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Neutralize first offers: estimate value independently before hearing any counterpart's number. - Seed your own frame: present a defensible number first so the reference point favors you. - Detect planted anchors: ask whether a quoted price or salary band came from evidence or from an opening move.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

An anchor activates information consistent with the number and makes it feel plausible, so subsequent reasoning starts from that value and stops too early. Effortful adjustment is costly and typically ends at the first acceptable estimate, which leaves a residual gap. When the anchor is processed without scrutiny, the effect grows stronger.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%9A%E9%8C%A8%E6%95%88%E6%87%89ZH · Explicit
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