Anchoring effects refer to a phenomenon whereby people make absolute estimates by starting from an initial point (anchor value) and adjusting upwards or downwards to reach their final answers (target values). A number of studies have demonstrated that these adjustments are often insufficient...

A naturalistic study was employed to explore a new form of “basic anchoring.” In particular, we examined the degree to which decision makers in a financial market, the horserace betting market, anchored their probability judgments excessively on a factor present in the environment at the...