Is 7300 m equal to 7.3 km? Same semantics but different anchoring effects

Anchoring effect (AE) refers to a phenomenon that an arbitrary number (i.e. , the anchor) biases a subsequent numerical judgment. Three experiments wer e conducted to examine how the anchor is represented in short-term memory. Experiment 1 showed that despite the semantic equivalence of two anchors, t he anchor with a larger absolute value (i.e., 7300 m) induced a greater num erical estimate than did the anchor with a smaller absolute value (i.e., 7. 3 km), Experiment 2 showed that an anchor 228 could serve as both a high an d a low anchor, depending on the absolute value to be judged in the numeric al judgment. By including anchors with negative signs, Experiment 3 further demonstrated that it was the absolute value but not the semantics of the a nchors that exerted an effect on the subsequent numerical estimate. The thr ee experiments provided converging support for the hypothesis that an ancho r is superficially represented as absolute value plus affix in short-term m emory. The processes leading to AE and the practical implications are discu ssed. (C) 2000 Academic Press.