Analysing your IQ
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AKA: "First Impression Bias"
The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the "anchor") when making decisions.
Your brain has bugs. Anchoring Bias is one of them. Understanding this error pattern helps you catch it before it costs you.
You see a shirt for $100, then see it on sale for $50. You think it's cheap. But is it worth $50? You are anchored to the $100.
Anchoring Bias isn't just an abstract concept—it affects real decisions about money, relationships, career, and health. The cost of ignoring it compounds over time.
This error is driven by Priming. The first number sets the context for all subsequent judgments..
Evolution optimized for speed and safety, not truth. Anchoring Bias is a byproduct of heuristics that once had adaptive value.
In investing: Anchoring Bias leads to holding losing positions too long or selling winners too early.
In relationships: This bias causes people to interpret ambiguous signals in ways that confirm existing beliefs about partners.
In work: Anchoring Bias makes it harder to update strategies when market conditions change.
In health: People ignore symptoms that contradict their self-image as "healthy" or "young."
Experiments on Anchoring Bias often use controlled conditions that make the bias obvious to observers—yet participants still fall for it. This demonstrates how powerful the effect is.
Reject the initial number. Create your own independent estimate before looking at the "asking price."
Seek disconfirming evidence: Actively look for data that challenges your current belief.
Use decision journals: Write down predictions before outcomes are known, then review accuracy.
Consult diverse perspectives: People with different backgrounds spot different biases.
Implement decision rules: Pre-commit to criteria before emotionally charged situations arise.
Time-box decisions: Revisit important conclusions after a cooling-off period.
Some brains are more susceptible to this than others. Test your Intelligence to find out.
The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the "anchor") when making decisions.
The alternate name "First Impression Bias" captures the intuitive essence of the bias. Anchoring Bias is the formal psychological term, while "First Impression Bias" describes what it feels like in practice.
Reject the initial number. Create your own independent estimate before looking at the "asking price."
The underlying mechanism is priming. the first number sets the context for all subsequent judgments.. Human brains evolved heuristics for speed and survival, not accuracy in modern contexts.
Yes. Intelligence doesn't provide immunity—sometimes it makes the bias worse because smart people are better at rationalizing. Awareness and structured decision processes are more protective than raw IQ.
You see a shirt for $100, then see it on sale for $50. You think it's cheap. But is it worth $50? You are anchored to the $100.