Anchoring Effect

The first piece of information you see — especially a number — becomes an "anchor," and your later estimates stay stubbornly pulled toward it, even when the anchor is arbitrary or irrelevant.^[1] In classic experiments, people spun a wheel of fortune and were then asked an unrelated numeric question; those who landed on a high number gave higher answers. It's why a sticker price shapes what you'll pay, why the first offer anchors a negotiation, and why "was $200, now $120" feels like a deal. Once an anchor is set, we adjust away from it — but almost never far enough.