{"title":"The baker's advice matters! Multiple anchoring in legal decision-making.","authors":"Aglaé Navarre, André Didierjean, Cyril Thomas","doi":"10.1007/s00426-025-02134-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since the seminal work of Tversky & Kahneman (Science, 185:1124-1131, 1974), the anchoring effect has generated considerable interest and its effects have been extensively documented in numerous everyday situations. However, few studies have paid attention to the influence of multiple successive anchors. To analyze how the presentation of a second anchor influences legal decision-making depending on its relevance, we conducted two studies. In both experiments, participants were asked to read a text describing a trial in which two anchors (one relevant given by a prosecutor in Experiment 1 (N = 538) or a magistrate in Experiment 2 (N = 284), the other less relevant given by a baker) appeared in succession. The results show an anchoring effect when there is one anchor (relevant and less relevant). However, the effect of a relevant anchor disappears in the presence of a contradictory less relevant anchor. We discuss the psychological processes underlying this phenomenon.</p>","PeriodicalId":48184,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Research-Psychologische Forschung","volume":"89 4","pages":"114"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychological Research-Psychologische Forschung","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-025-02134-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Since the seminal work of Tversky & Kahneman (Science, 185:1124-1131, 1974), the anchoring effect has generated considerable interest and its effects have been extensively documented in numerous everyday situations. However, few studies have paid attention to the influence of multiple successive anchors. To analyze how the presentation of a second anchor influences legal decision-making depending on its relevance, we conducted two studies. In both experiments, participants were asked to read a text describing a trial in which two anchors (one relevant given by a prosecutor in Experiment 1 (N = 538) or a magistrate in Experiment 2 (N = 284), the other less relevant given by a baker) appeared in succession. The results show an anchoring effect when there is one anchor (relevant and less relevant). However, the effect of a relevant anchor disappears in the presence of a contradictory less relevant anchor. We discuss the psychological processes underlying this phenomenon.
期刊介绍:
Psychological Research/Psychologische Forschung publishes articles that contribute to a basic understanding of human perception, attention, memory, and action. The Journal is devoted to the dissemination of knowledge based on firm experimental ground, but not to particular approaches or schools of thought. Theoretical and historical papers are welcome to the extent that they serve this general purpose; papers of an applied nature are acceptable if they contribute to basic understanding or serve to bridge the often felt gap between basic and applied research in the field covered by the Journal.