Precision of the anchor influences the amount of adjustment.
The anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic has been used to account for a wide variety of numerical judgments. Five studies show that adjustment away from a numerical anchor is smaller if the anchor is precise than if it is rounded. Evidence suggests that precise anchors, compared with rounded anchors, are represented on a subjective scale with a finer resolution. If adjustment consists of a series of iterative mental movements along a subjective scale, then an adjustment from a precise anchor should result in a smaller overall correction than an adjustment from a rounded anchor.
Janiszewski
Chris
C
Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-1755, USA. chris.janiszewski@cba.ufl.edu
Uy
Dan
D
D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008433:Mathematics