anchoring bias
the tendency, in forming perceptions or making quantitative judgments under conditions of uncertainty, to give excessive weight to the starting value (or anchor), based on the first received information or one’s initial judgment, and not to modify this anchor sufficiently in light of later information. For example, estimates of the product of 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 tend to be higher than estimates of the product of 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 × 9. Also called anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic; anchoring effect. See also atmosphere effect.