Glossary/Strategy & Frameworks/Anchoring
Strategy & Frameworks
Anchoring
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's 1974 finding that people rely heavily on the first number they see, such as a list price, when judging value.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Anchoring is the cognitive bias in which people rely heavily on the first number they see, such as a list price, when judging value. Identified by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1974, it explains why showing an original price beside a discount, or a premium option first, can shape how fair other prices seem.