Anchoring effects

Silvio Aldrovandi

Chapter 4 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Neuroscience and Management, 2026, pp 15-17 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The anchoring effect describes how numerical judgements are biased towards an initial reference value, even when that value is arbitrary or irrelevant. Research demonstrates its robustness across laboratory and applied settings, including management and marketing decisions. Competing explanations include insufficient adjustment, selective accessibility, and scale distortion, each highlighting different cognitive mechanisms driving assimilation towards anchors. Neuroscientific evidence implicates regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex and neural responses measured by EEG and fMRI, suggesting that anchoring arises from brain systems governing valuation, expectation, and cognitive control. Anchoring thus exemplifies a fundamental bias in human judgement.

Keywords: Cognitive bias; Insufficient adjustment; Selective accessibility; Scale distortion; Judgement and decision-making; Neurological mechanisms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332885
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