Psychologycalendar_todayLast updated: Apr 2026
What is Anchoring Bias?
/ˈæŋkərɪŋ ˈbaɪəs/
Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions, even if that information is irrelevant or arbitrary.
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Everyday Example
If a jacket is marked down from £200 to £80, you feel it is a bargain — because your mind anchors to the £200 price, even if the jacket was never worth that much.
publicReal-World Application
“Salary negotiations are heavily influenced by anchoring — whoever names a number first sets the reference point around which the entire negotiation revolves.”
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Did you know?
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman first described anchoring in 1974 in their landmark paper on cognitive heuristics, which later contributed to Kahneman's Nobel Prize.
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Key Insight
Anchoring is exploited deliberately in pricing, negotiation, and retail. Knowing about it is the first step to resisting it.
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