Cognitive Biases and Their Impact - 3 (Anchoring Bias)
Anchoring Bias Explanation: Anchoring bias is a cognitive tendency that influences our decision-making process. It occurs when we give excessive importance to the initial information we come across when making judgments or choices. Essentially, this initial information becomes a mental "anchor" that influences subsequent decisions, often overshadowing other relevant information. Example: Consider a parent-teacher conference to illustrate this bias in an educational context. Suppose a teacher, during the conference, first hears about a student's challenging behaviour, such as disciplinary issues or classroom disruptions. This initial negative information becomes the anchor. Even if there are positive aspects to that student's performance, the teacher may unintentionally fixate on the negative behaviour and form an overall negative perception of the student. This bias could lead to underestimating the student's potential or not fully recognising their strengths. E