托福口语 Task 3

The concept of 'anchoring' in psychology refers to the tendency for individuals to rely heavily on the first piece of information they receive (the 'anchor') when making decisions. Once an anchor is set, subsequent judgments are made by adjusting away from that anchor, often insufficiently. This cognitive bias affects various real-world situations, such as pricing, negotiations, and even personal estimates, because the initial reference point skews the final decision.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a study on consumer behavior. Researchers asked two groups of participants to estimate the price of a used car. Group A was first shown a sticker price of $10,000, while Group B saw a sticker price of $6,000. Even though both groups were told that the sticker prices were arbitrary and not the actual value, Group A consistently estimated the car's worth at around $8,500, whereas Group B estimated it at $7,200. The initial numbers—$10,000 and $6,000—served as anchors. Participants adjusted their estimates but not enough to overcome the anchor's pull. This shows how the first price we see can heavily influence our final judgment, even when we know it's not reliable.