Anchoring and Grammar Effects in Judgments of Sentence Acceptability

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 1171-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Cowart
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Anchoring Effects

This study examined the relation between anchoring effects, as demonstrated in 1992 by Nagata, and grammar-based effects in judgments of sentence acceptability. 35 subjects judged the acceptability of target sentences representing six different syntactic types. There were highly robust differences among these sentence types arising from differences in sentence structure. For one group of subjects the target sentences were mingled with a long list of highly acceptable sentences (High Anchor Set). A second group saw the same target sentences with an Anchor Set in which one-third of the sentences were of very low acceptability (Mixed Anchor Set). Target sentences seen in the context of the Mixed Anchor Set were judged more acceptable (an anchoring effect); however, the effect of Anchor Set did not interact with other factors. The relative acceptability of the six target types was unchanged in the two anchor conditions. Implications for the psychological theory of sentence judgments are considered. In particular, it is argued that anchoring effects do not arise in the cognitive mechanisms that evaluate sentence structure.

Anchoring in international merger and acquisition equity decisions: evidence from Chinese firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-410
Author(s):  
Huimin Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Merger And Acquisition ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Anchoring Effects

PurposeIn uncertain environments, top managers may be inadvertently affected by the anchor information and make sticky decisions. The purpose of this paper is to examine how anchoring influences international merger and acquisition (M&A) equity decisions.Design/methodology/approachBased on the data of Chinese international M&A deals from 2007 to 2018, this paper uses the Tobit regression method to examine the anchoring effects on international M&A equity decisions.FindingsThe study shows that the acquiring firm's previous international M&A equity level as a self-generated anchor has a positive impact on the focal international M&A equity level. The local market's previous international M&A equity level as an externally provided anchor has a positive impact on the focal international M&A equity level. When there are self-generated anchors and externally provided anchors, the self-generated anchoring effect is stronger than the externally provided anchoring effect. The anchoring effect is stronger when the acquiring firm enters less stable host countries.Research limitations/implicationsThe acquirers in a single-country context may limit the generalizability of the results, and this study does not explicitly determine whether managers' decisions are unintentional or deliberate.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the discussion of equity-based foreign entry mode decisions by exploring anchoring behavior in strategic decisions. It provides an empirical investigation of the different anchoring effects and draws attention to the boundary conditions surrounding anchoring.

Anchoring Effects in Judging Grammaticality of Sentences

1992 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Nagata
Keyword(s):  
Contrast Effect ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
The Third ◽  
Anchoring Effects

This study was undertaken to examine the anchoring effect in judgments of the grammaticality of sentences. Thirty-three students judged the target sentences involving an intermediate level of judged grammaticality. The first group of 11 subjects judged the sentences paired with the sentences involving high grammaticality (high anchor); the second group of 11 judged them when paired with the sentences involving low grammaticality (low anchor); and the third group of 11 judged them without being given anchor sentences. Analysis shows a clear contrast effect such that the subjects given low-anchor sentences judged the target sentences as more grammatical, while those given high-anchor sentences tended to judge them as less grammatical. Implications of the findings were discussed as they were related to Chomsky's contention about a native speaker's intuition regarding judgments of grammaticality.

The Impact of Lookup Tables on Use Tax Reporting

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon M. Fleming ◽  
Steve L. Gill
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Lookup Table ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Anchoring Effects ◽  
Lookup Tables ◽  
Use Tax ◽  
Tax Reporting ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT This paper examines the anchoring effects that estimates of use tax provided by the state in the form of a “lookup table” have on use tax reporting. Results indicate taxpayers presented with a lookup table are significantly less likely to simply anchor on and report $0 for the amount of use tax due—currently the most commonly reported use tax amount. In addition, significantly more use tax was reported when an aggressive lookup table value (i.e., higher use tax estimate) was provided compared to a conservative lookup table value (i.e., lower use tax estimate) or when no table was available. By contrast, significantly less use tax was reported when a conservative lookup table value was provided compared to when no table was available. Finally, results indicate the anchoring effect of an aggressive lookup table value was magnified when taxpayers had greater uncertainty about the possible amounts of use tax due.

scholarly journals Anchoring effect

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Štěpán Bahník ◽  
Fritz Strack
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Response Scale ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Anchoring Effects ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

An assimilation of an estimate towards a previously considered standard is defined as judgmental anchoring. Anchoring constitutes a ubiquitous phenomenon that occurs in a variety of laboratory and real-world settings. Anchoring effects are remarkably robust. They may occur even if the anchor values are clearly uninformative or implausibly extreme, are sometimes independent of participants’ motivation and expertise, and may persist over long periods of time. Different underlying mechanisms may contribute to the generation of anchoring effects. Specifically, anchoring may result from insufficient adjustment, from the use of conversational inferences, from selective accessibility of information consistent with an anchor, or from the distortion of a response scale.

scholarly journals Bayes Factors show evidence against systematic relationships between the anchoring effect and the Big Five personality traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Schindler ◽  
Jan Querengässer ◽  
Maximilian Bruchmann ◽  
Nele Johanna Bögemann ◽  
Robert Moeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
Anchoring Effects ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Systematic Relationships ◽  
The Individual

AbstractExamining personality traits as predictors of human behaviour is of high interest. There are several but inconclusive reported relationships of personality and the susceptibility to the “anchoring effect”, a tendency to adjust estimates towards a given anchor. To provide an answer to variably reported links between personality traits and the anchoring effect, we collected data from 1000 participants in the lab and validated typical anchoring effects and representative personality scores of the sample. Using Bayesian statistical data analyses, we found evidence for the absence of a relationship between anchoring effects and personality scores. We, therefore, conclude that there are no specific personality traits that relate to a higher susceptibility to the anchoring effect. The lack of a relationship between personality and the susceptibility to the anchoring effect might be due to the specific anchoring design, be limited to specific cognitive domains, or the susceptibility to anchors might reflect no reliable individual cognitive phenomena. In the next step, studies should examine the reliability of anchoring effects on the individual level, and testing relationships of individual traits and anchoring effects for other types of anchors, anchoring designs, or cognitive domains.

scholarly journals What Stimuli Are Necessary for Anchoring Effects to Occur?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaro Onuki ◽  
Hidehito Honda ◽  
Kazuhiro Ueda
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Numerical Estimation ◽  
Anchoring Effect ◽  
Anchoring Effects

The anchoring effect is a form of cognitive bias in which exposure to some piece of information affects its subsequent numerical estimation. Previous studies have discussed which stimuli, such as numbers or semantic priming stimuli, are most likely to induce anchoring effects. However, it has not been determined whether anchoring effects will occur when a number is presented alone or when the semantic priming stimuli have an equivalent dimension between a target and the stimuli without a number. We conducted five experimental studies (N = 493) using stimuli to induce anchoring effects. We found that anchoring effects did not occur when a number was presented alone or when phrases to induce semantic priming were used without presenting a number. These results indicate that both numerical and semantic priming stimuli must be presented for anchoring effects to occur. Our findings represent a substantial contribution to the literature on anchoring effects by offering insights into how these effects are generated.

The bottleneck may be the solution, not the problem

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnon Lotem ◽  
Oren Kolodny ◽  
Joseph Y. Halpern ◽  
Luca Onnis ◽  
Shimon Edelman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Biological Trait ◽  
Memory Bottleneck

AbstractAs a highly consequential biological trait, a memory “bottleneck” cannot escape selection pressures. It must therefore co-evolve with other cognitive mechanisms rather than act as an independent constraint. Recent theory and an implemented model of language acquisition suggest that a limit on working memory may evolve to help learning. Furthermore, it need not hamper the use of language for communication.

Language in mental retardation: Individual and syndromic differences, and neurogenetic variation 1Based on a keynote presentation at the Third European Conference on Psychological Theory and Research in Mental Retardation, Geneva, September 1st, 2000.

2001 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean A. Rondal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Retardation ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Genetic Syndromes ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Keynote Presentation ◽  
Genetic Origins ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
The Individual

Predominantly non-etiological conceptions have dominated the field of mental retardation (MR) since the discovery of the genetic etiology of Down syndrome (DS) in the sixties. However, contemporary approaches are becoming more etiologically oriented. Important differences across MR syndromes of genetic origin are being documented, particularly in the cognition and language domains, differences not explicable in terms of psychometric level, motivation, or other dimensions. This paper highlights the major difficulties observed in the oral language development of individuals with genetic syndromes of mental retardation. The extent of inter- and within-syndrome variability are evaluated. Possible brain underpinnings of the behavioural differences are envisaged. Cases of atypically favourable language development in MR individuals are also summarized and explanatory variables discussed. It is suggested that differences in brain architectures, originating in neurological development and having genetic origins, may largely explain the syndromic as well as the individual within-syndrome variability documented. Lastly, the major implications of the above points for current debates about modularity and developmental connectionism are spelt out.

Can a Theory of Suicide Predict All “Suicides” in the Elderly?

Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoon A. Leenaars
Keyword(s):  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Suicide Notes ◽  
Psychiatric Study

Summary: Older adults consistently have the highest rates of suicide in most societies. Despite the paucity of studies until recently, research has shown that suicides in later life are best understood as a multidimensional event. An especially neglected area of research is the psychological/psychiatric study of personality factors in the event. This paper outlines one comprehensive model of suicide and then raises the question: Is such a psychiatric/psychological theory applicable to all suicides in the elderly? To address the question, I discuss the case of Sigmund Freud; raise the topic of suicide and/or dignified death in the terminally ill; and examine suicide notes of the both terminally ill and nonterminally ill elderly. I conclude that, indeed, greater study and theory building are needed into the “suicides” of the elderly, including those who are terminally ill.

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