Anchoring effect
Overview
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the first number or piece of information you're shown becomes a reference point (an anchor) and skews your later estimates and decisions. Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman reported it in 1974. A group asked "Is the percentage of African countries in the United Nations more or less than 65%?" gave much higher estimates than a group asked "more or less than 10%?"
| Number shown first | What was asked | How people answered |
|---|---|---|
| 65% | Is the percentage of African countries in the UN more or less than 65%? | Gave much higher estimates than the group shown 10% |
| 10% | Is the same percentage more or less than 10%? | Gave lower estimates than the group shown 65% |
Both groups were asked about the same fact, yet their answers moved just because of the number they saw right before. The researchers were Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman.
Anchoring in a question box
The questions you get when you first start a question box, or the first Q&As you see from other people, set your sense of "this is what a question box is like." People who first see funny Q&As tend to want their own question box to be funny too. People who first see serious Q&As tend to send serious questions.
The same thing tends to happen with answer length. If you write your first answer at length, followers come to see you as "someone who gives long answers" and become more likely to send deeper questions that call for long answers. If you answer briefly, lighter questions tend to come in.
| How you write your first answers | Questions more likely to arrive afterward |
|---|---|
| Write long, thorough answers | People see you as "someone who gives long answers," and deeper questions that call for long answers become more likely |
| Reply briefly and casually | Lighter questions tend to come in |
Your first few answers tend to act as the standard for the tone of your whole question box from then on.
Why your first answers matter
Given the anchoring effect, your first few answers in a question box are likely to shape the kinds of questions that arrive later. That's because your first answers tend to act as the standard for the tone of your whole question box from then on.
If you have an image of "the kind of question box I want," show that tone in your first answers. If you want a fun question box, answer with humor from the start. If you want to help with serious problems, answer carefully from the start. That first anchor tends to steer the direction of your question box.