Dlaczego kotwica kotwiczy? Przegląd mechanizmów i zasad działania heurystyki zakotwiczenia

This paper reviews the literature regarding the anchoring heuristic. Despite substantial empirical background the anchoring effect cannot be fully explained with just one psychological mechanism. In the first part of the article the classical mechanisms of anchoring are discussed – the insufficient adjustment mechanism and the selective accessibility Additionally, alternative theoretical explanations of the anchoring effect are discussed. In the second part of the article experimental procedures that are used to investigate the anchoring effect are revised. According to the literature paying suffi cient attention to the anchor or compatibility between the anchor and the estimation target determine the effectiveness of the anchoring. However, collating those conditions with results obtained with different anchoring procedures show that those rules are not universal. Highlighted theoretical questions indicate a possible direction for further research aimed at fi nding one psychological mechanism that fully explains the anchoring effect.