Resisting anchoring effects: The roles of metric and mapping knowledge

Abstract

The biasing influence of anchors on numerical estimates is well established, but the relationship between knowledge level and the susceptibility to anchoring effects is less clear. In two studies, we addressed the potential mitigating effects of having knowledge in a domain on vulnerability to anchoring effects in that domain. Of critical interest was a distinction between two forms of knowledge—metric and mapping knowledge. In Study 1, participants who had studied question-relevant information—that is, high-knowledge participants—were less influenced by anchors than were participants who had studied irrelevant information. The results from knowledge measures suggested that the reduction in anchoring was tied to increases in metric rather than mapping knowledge. In Study 2, participants studied information specifically designed to influence different types of knowledge. As we predicted, increases in metric knowledge—and not mapping knowledge—led to reduced anchoring effects. Implications for debiasing anchoring effects are discussed.