Why is it when I go to the grocery store and see a sale price marked next to the original price I get so much more intrigued to buy the item than if the store just simply had the lower price marked? Or when I’m on Amazon shopping for something I’m brand agnostic on, the first price point I see tends to become the benchmark for whether other options are good deals or not?

I recently was reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and was introduced to one of Daniel and Amos Tversky’s psychological discoveries, the anchoring effect. The anchoring effect is when we rely too much on the initial piece of information offered. This initial piece of information becomes our anchor and creates a cognitive bias as we make judgments in the future.

The list is endless on where we see this cognitive bias in our lives. A price tag at a grocery store, listing price on a house for sale, looking at resumes before hiring, hearing your friend’s perspective on a new restaurant, or even salary negotiations for a new job opportunity. We anchor to the first bit of information to then carry judgments forward.

While the anchoring effect may have minimal personal impact in a grocery store, looking much broader, one of the biggest risks I see of the anchoring effect is tied to the limitations we may inflict on ourselves. We can all agree there’s a lot of decelerators (The Battle with Decelerators – Be An Accelerator) that attempt to impose their pessimism upon us. What if some of this pessimism acts as an anchor?

Would a co-worker telling you that you’re not qualified for this promotion you’re working towards derail your focus on striving for what you’re capable of achieving?

If you’re family has always eaten unhealthy, is this the anchor that holds you away from believing you can reach your health and wellness goals?

If you’ve always been taught talking about your feelings is a sign of weakness, is this the anchor keeping you from asking for help to improve mental health?

I love the name of this cognitive bias because it really implants a picture in your mind of how these biases we first hear can be anchoring us to a life we know is below what we’re capable of. The anchor is so deep and stuck in some of our biases that yes, it can be hard to release this anchor. Acknowledging it is the first step to working towards pulling that anchor up and gravitate to a new mindset.

This anchor effect can work in the reverse as well. What if the messaging that’s first brought to you is one of optimism, strength, courage, and perspective to becoming your best self? What if that anchor helps you understand you are meant for great things, in your own unique way? Anchor to the optimism and do everything you can to pull any anchors you have of that pessimistic view.

Take your step: There are 2 views to this anchor effect.

First, what’s anchoring you down from striving to become your best self? Identify any perceptions generated from initial information or biases that you’re holding onto. Acknowledge the cognitive bias and work to challenge the judgment.

Second, you can help set up an anchor for someone else by being that positive force. You can be an accelerator to someone else by anchoring down thoughts of optimism striving for a better tomorrow. Be that optimist for someone else to anchor to (check out Invite in more Accelerators – Be An Accelerator for more on being an accelerator).