Restoring the Truth: Anchoring Effects and Debiasing Interventions on Citizen Satisfaction

AbstractAlthough expectations have emerged as a prominent research theme in public administration, little is known about whether and how expectations affect citizen satisfaction. We investigated the anchoring effects of expectations in shaping citizen satisfaction, utilizing a survey experiment involving 735 Chinese citizens. Specifically, we examined (1) the influence of citizens’ normative expectations of what services should be on their satisfaction levels; (2) the anchoring effects that result from numerical anchors on expectations and satisfaction; and (3) the effectiveness of debiasing education in mitigating anchoring effects. The findings reveal a negative correlation between citizens’ normative expectations and their satisfaction levels, highlighting the influence of anchoring effects on citizens’ expectations and satisfaction. Debiasing education is effective in mitigating anchoring effects on expectations but not on satisfaction. These findings integrated cognitive bias into the expectancy disconfirmation model to a better understanding of citizen satisfaction.BRIEF ABSTRACTIn this article, the authors focus on investigating the anchoring effects of expectations in shaping levels of citizen satisfaction. To achieve this, the study (1) examined the influence of citizens’ normative expectations of what services should be on their satisfaction levels, utilizing a survey experiment involving 735 Chinese citizens; (2) tested the anchoring effects that result from numerical anchors on satisfaction; and (3) employed debiasing education to mitigate anchoring effects on satisfaction. The findings reveal a negative correlation between citizens’ normative expectations and their satisfaction levels, highlighting the influence of anchoring effects on citizen satisfaction. Debias education is effective in mitigating bias on expectations but does not equally address issues related to satisfaction levels. These findings contribute to the cross-national generalizability of the expectancy disconfirmation model and citizen satisfaction literature.Keywords: Anchoring effectscitizen satisfactionexpectancy disconfirmation modelnormative expectationsurvey experiment Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant [No. 72134002]; Key Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education under Grant [No. 21JZD029]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant [No. 2019CDJSK01PY04, 2022CDJSKJC23]; National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant [No. T221101034]; and Chongqing Social Science Planning Talents Plan Project [No. 2021YC019].Notes on contributorsJinfeng ZhangJinfeng Zhang is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Chongqing University, China. Her research focuses on nudging citizens’ behavior, citizen satisfaction, and behavioral public administration.Zengqiang QinZengqiang Qin is an associate professor in the School of Public Administration at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China. His research interests include behavioral public administration, citizen expectations, and experimental research methods.Jun CenJun Cen is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Chongqing University, China. Her research interests include citizen satisfaction and expectations about public services.Bingsheng LiuBingsheng Liu is a professor in the School of Economics and Management at Hebei University of Technology, China. His research focuses on social governance and project management.