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  • Let's do a simple psychological test.

  • Do you think the average German car costs more than $90,000?

  • That's the question Professor Michael Morris of Columbia University asked his class of MBA students in order to trick them using a phenomenon known as anchoring.

  • Anchoring is a cognitive bias that makes you rely too heavily on the first piece of information presented, the anchor, no matter how arbitrary it may seem, it pulls your thoughts, judgments and decisions towards it.

  • In negotiations, for example, priming the other party with an initial offer sets an anchor that can heavily influence the final outcome,

  • even if both parties know that the initial offer is absurd, the final agreement often gravitates towards that first figure.

  • In medicine, studies show that doctors are often overly influenced by the initial information they receive, which can lead to screening errors, a false diagnosis and the wrong treatment plan.

  • Even the smartest among us, who are trying to arrive at a logical conclusion, have an intuition that has already been swayed by the anchor, which pulls our thoughts towards a biased conclusion.

  • A fascinating experiment by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman first introduced the idea in 1971.

  • The two psychologists asked people to spin a rigged wheel with numbers ranging from 1 to 100.

  • Afterwards, participants were asked to estimate how many African countries were members of the United Nations.

  • The result? Those who saw a high number on the spinning wheel gave much higher estimates than those who saw a low number.

  • But does this work on Morris's smart MBA students?

  • Before Professor Morris ran his experiment, he separated his students into two groups.

  • One group was asked if they thought that the average German car from last year cost more than $90,000, while the other was asked if it cost more than 30,000.

  • After doing this for many years, Professor Morris found that his students who were anchored by the $90,000 figure estimated the average price to be between $45,000 and $50,000,

  • while those anchored by the $30,000 figure estimated it to be between $35,000 and $40,000.

  • The anchors, regardless of the number, had pulled their judgments in that direction.

  • Now, here's the kicker.

  • When Morris asked his students to explain how they arrived at their conclusions, they claimed that they used their knowledge to make a rational estimate.

  • Only when the professor dug deeper did one group mention high-end brands like Mercedes, while the other thought of more affordable cars like Volkswagen.

  • It is as if the pictures that arrive in the students' heads when they are primed by the anchor decide where they land with their estimates.

  • Intuition drives more than 90% of our thinking and behavior, Morris concluded.

  • How did you answer? Were you influenced by our anchor at the beginning of the video to give estimates closer to $90,000, like the MBA students?

  • Share your experiences with anchoring in the comments below.

  • We relentlessly researched education for the past decade, read plenty of peer-reviewed papers, visited all sorts of schools, created hundreds of videos on the topic,

  • and even set up our very own kindergarten for project-based learning, and now, we also made a book.

  • The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary covers everything we know about learning, unveils the unintended consequences of compulsory education, and includes a complete guide to the alternative school movement.

  • Order your copy now.

  • Just visit your favorite bookshop or check the links in the description below.

  • If you found this helpful, check out our other videos, join us on YouTube or on patreon.com/sprouts.

  • For more information, classroom exercises or videos without background music, visit sproutsschools.com.

  • Published under Creative Commons.

Let's do a simple psychological test.

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B1 US morris anchor mba asked professor initial

The Anchoring Bias: Why The First Offer Matters

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    VoiceTube posted on 2025/05/21
Video vocabulary

Keywords

cognitive

US /ˈkɑɡnɪtɪv/

UK /ˈkɒgnətɪv/

  • adjective
  • Relating to cognition; concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving, etc.
  • The process of knowing and remembering
  • Relating to the ability to think and reason.
  • Relating to the development of mental abilities and processes.
  • Relating to the functions of the brain involved in thinking and reasoning.
  • Relating to the mental processes of thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering.
  • Relating to cognition; concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving, etc.
  • Relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning.
  • Relating to the scientific study of the mind and its processes.
  • Relating to a type of therapy that focuses on changing thought patterns.
phenomenon

US /fɪˈnɑməˌnɑn, -nən/

UK /fə'nɒmɪnən/

  • noun
  • something that exists and can be seen, felt, tasted, etc., especially something unusual or interesting
  • Unusual event, fact that can be studied
  • A fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.
  • Interesting or unusual person, group
  • A remarkable person, thing, or event.
  • A remarkable person, thing, or event.
figure

US /ˈfɪɡjɚ/

UK /ˈfiɡə/

  • verb
  • To appear in a game, play or event
  • To calculate how much something will cost
  • To understand or solve something.
  • To understand after thinking; work out
  • other
  • To consider, believe, or conclude.
  • To calculate or work out (a sum or amount).
  • noun
  • Your body shape
  • Numbers in a calculation
  • A diagram or illustrative drawing in a book or magazine.
  • Doll-like thing meant to represent a person
  • Picture or diagram giving information in a text
  • Person who is very important or famous
  • A set pattern of movements in ice skating.
  • Shape of a person seen indistinctly or in outline
  • Amount that is expressed in numbers
  • A person, especially one who is important or well-known.
  • A numerical amount or value expressed in numbers.
  • A statue or other representation of a person or animal.
  • An outline or shape, especially of a person or animal.
  • other
  • To conclude or expect; think.
present

US /ˈprɛznt/

UK /'preznt/

  • other
  • To give, provide, or show something to somebody
  • To give something to someone formally or ceremonially.
  • To give (something) to someone, especially formally or as a gift.
  • Introduce (someone) to someone else.
  • Give or offer (something) to someone.
  • To put on a performance or show.
  • To show or display something.
  • adjective
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place; attending or existing.
  • Being in attendance; being there; having turned up
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • Being in a particular place; existing or occurring now.
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • other
  • Be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • noun
  • Gift
  • Verb tense indicating an action is happening now
  • Current time; now
  • The period of time now occurring.
  • verb
  • To introduce someone to others
  • To host a program on television or radio
  • To give a speech or presentation
  • To show something to someone who will examine it
  • To appear or happen
  • To give an award or prize to someone
  • other
  • The period of time now occurring.
fascinating

US /ˈfæsəˌnetɪŋ/

UK /ˈfæsɪneɪtɪŋ/

  • adjective
  • Having your attention fixated as though by a spell
  • Extremely interesting or attractive
  • Extremely interesting or attractive.
  • Extremely interesting or attractive.
  • Extremely interesting or attractive.
  • verb
  • To attract or interest greatly
  • To attract strong interest and attention.
  • other
  • To attract; to strongly interest
  • To hold someone captive with a gaze or other means.
  • To attract and hold someone's attention by being extremely interesting or attractive.
  • noun
  • The quality of being extremely interesting or attractive.
average

US /ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ/

UK /'ævərɪdʒ/

  • noun
  • Total of numbers divided by the number of items
  • verb
  • To add numbers then divide by the number of items
  • adjective
  • Typical or normal; usual; ordinary
arbitrary

US /ˈɑrbɪˌtrɛri/

UK /ˈɑ:bitrəri/

  • adjective
  • (Of decisions) unsupported; without any evidence
  • (Of power or a ruling system) unrestrained and autocratic in the exercise of authority.
  • Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
  • Unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority.
  • Unreasonable; unsupported.
  • Unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority.
psychological

US /ˌsaɪkəˈlɑdʒɪkəl/

UK /ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkl/

  • adjective
  • Relating to the mind or mental processes.
  • Affecting the mind or emotions.
  • Based on or relating to the science of psychology.
  • Relating to the emotional state of a person.
  • Relating to the mind or mental processes.
  • Relating to the mind or mental processes.
  • Relating to the science of psychology.
  • Relating to or involving the use of propaganda, threats, or other psychological techniques to subdue an opponent.
  • Concerning the study of the mind
  • Relating to the human mind and its functions.
bias

US /ˈbaɪəs/

UK /'baɪəs/

  • noun
  • Preference to believe things even if incorrect
  • An influence that unfairly affects a decision
  • A tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that thing
  • A systematic error in a statistical result
  • A tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing
  • verb
  • To unfairly favor one view over another
  • other
  • To apply a steady voltage or current to an electronic device to control its operation.
  • To cause someone to have prejudice
  • other
  • The action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment
experiment

US /ɪkˈspɛrəmənt/

UK /ɪk'sperɪmənt/

  • noun
  • Test performed to assess new ideas or theories
  • A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
  • A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
  • A course of action tentatively adopted without being sure of the eventual outcome.
  • verb
  • To create and perform tests to research something
  • To try something new that you haven't tried before
  • other
  • To subject to experimental treatment.
  • To perform a scientific test or procedure.
  • other
  • To perform a scientific procedure, especially in a laboratory, to determine something.
  • To try out new ideas or methods.