The Effect of Attitudinal Ambivalence on Numerical Anchoring

2nd place in the field of Psychology at the Denman Undergraduate Research ForumNumerical Anchoring occurs when an arbitrary “anchoring” number influences judgments (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). A recent approach to anchoring draws parallels between anchoring and persuasion (Wegener et al., 2010). The current study examined these parallels by looking at effects of preexisting attitudes on the effectiveness of anchors and at potential moderating effects of attitude ambivalence. Subsequent analyses showed that Anchors substantially influenced participants’ estimates (p<.001). More importantly, when anchors were consistent with pre-existing attitudes, the anchors had larger effects on estimates than when the anchors were inconsistent with pre-existing attitudes (p<.001), providing evidence of an effect of attitude on estimates. Finally, results also showed a significant moderating effect of attitude ambivalence (Anchor X Consistency X Ambivalence; p=.03). These findings provide support for the hypothesis that attitudes and the relatively univalent or ambivalent knowledge underlying those attitudes influence anchor effectiveness. In addition to advancing understanding of attitudes and anchoring, the results support the notion of extending explanatory principles across disciplines to create a more integrated science and generate new research questions.No embargoAcademic Major: Psycholog