Athlete Frank Tankerton says “you can only learn if you open yourself up to different sources of information. “However, can the cognitive bias of the anchoring effect promote exactly the opposite in our minds?
Are we free to make a decision based on the information available?The truth is that there are a myriad of factors that influence decision-making, and one of them is this anchoring effect, which we will explain below.
- Have you ever thought that the first information you receive seems to be the most important.
- Clear and concise?The first impact you have on a particular news story.
- For example.
- Will condition the way you view and understand the rest of the information.
- Of course.
- This is something that can condition your subsequent decisions.
The anchoring effect is also known as the “focalism” effect. This cognitive bias is a psychological phenomenon that states that the first information we receive on a specific topic will be the one we take as a basis for memorizing and, in addition, it will be the one that will influence future decisions.
We can say that the first data we obtain from a source of information is the data that is anchored in our memory, this does not mean that we do not memorize, understand or adapt the rest, but that the first data will be much stronger.
It is obvious that, during the decision-making phase, this anchoring effect will be of vital importance, since, unconsciously, the first information we receive will be the most important during the trial. Associations and memories will be formed from this first information obtained (initial anchoring).
Let’s see what are the different assumptions of this effect, which influences how we develop our opinions and decisions, we also indicate that this effect occurs in all areas of our lives.
First it is better to propose an example so that everything is perfectly clear, imagine that you are going to buy a flat. Obviously, you will compare and visit several of them, however, this will be the first apartment you will see that will serve as a reference point for others to negotiate, negotiate, discuss and decide definitively. Maybe, at your first starting point, you had a different idea, but you have no doubt that when you receive the first information, that point changes and all subsequent information will be collected around that first impact.
There are exceptions, of course, such as when the second apartment has a much more noticeable impact or that you then discover that the first apartment is totally out of what is offered on the market for that same price.
People usually try to get away from the anchor to decide, but they can’t. Its low effectiveness is revealed by the fact that the final decision always approaches the anchored information, one way or another.
When pinning the information, the person evaluates an appropriate response, if it is not appropriate will make more judgments. However, they will all be based on pinned information.
Upon receiving the anchor, the person changes their attitude to adapt to the characteristics of this information, so future responses will always be tied to the anchor, for example from this anchor what once seemed cheap may start to seem expensive, or vice versa. Conversely, think about what we can pay for a mobile phone today, wouldn’t we say a few years ago that it was crazy?
“True genius is the ability to evaluate uncertain, random, and contradictory information. “Winston Churchill?
Of course, there are factors that help modulate the effect of the anchor, both in form and intensity:
“If you can control information, you can control people. “Tom Clancy?
We already know a little better the anchoring effect, do you think you tend to suffer?No one seems to be freed from it, but once the phenomenon is known it is up to us, at least in part, to decide to what extent it influences us.