31st Annual Student Research Conference
Pure Numerical Priming: Observing the Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic with Non-suggestive Primes
Keith J. Haar
Dr. Terry Palmer, Faculty Mentor
The anchoring-and-adjustment effect is the tendency for humans to latch onto numbers and to have their opinions and answers to questions strongly influenced by them. The phenomenon has been well established in the field of psychology. However, the exact mechanism of this anchoring effect is unclear. Most of the studies in this line of research assume that numbers inherently attract attention and cause this effect. This study will explore another possible cause: namely, that anchoring effects are caused primarily by the suggestibility of the primes given. That is, people base their future opinions and answers off the anchors because, on some level, they assumed the anchors were helpful or relevant.
Keywords: Anchoring, Priming, Adjustment, Suggestibility, Psychology, Numbers, Anchoring-and-Adjustment
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 104-3
Location: MG 1098
Time: 8:30