The anchor integration model: A descriptive model of anchoring effects

Abstract

Few experimental effects in the psychology of judgment and decision making have been studied as meticulously as the anchoring effect. Although the existing literature provides considerable insight into the psychological processes underlying anchoring effects, extant theories up to this point have only generated qualitative predictions. While these theories have been productive in advancing our understanding of the underlying anchoring process, they leave much to be desired in the interpretation of specific anchoring effects. In this article, we introduce the Anchor Integration Model (AIM) as a descriptive tool for the measurement and quantification of anchoring effects. We develop two versions the model: one suitable for assessing between-participant anchoring effects, and another for assessing individual differences in anchoring effects. We then fit each model to data from two experiments, and demonstrate the model’s utility in describing anchoring effects.