Let’s say you were asked a question to which you didn’t really know the answer.
How would your response be? Consider you were asked the following questions independent of each other.
Would your answers be the same?
Q1: What is the World Record (in terms of words per minute) for the fastest typing speed for a person?
Thought of a number? (No Googling, please!) Good!
Now, let’s try this again, this time with a slight variation.
Q2: The average typing speed is around 40 words per minute. What is the World Record (in terms of words per minute) for the fastest typing speed for a person?
Okay, so what was your answer this time?
The same? Great!
Now, let’s give it another try.
Q3: What is the World Record (in terms of words per minute) for the fastest typing speed for a person? Is it more than 140 words per minute?
What is your answer now?
It is likely that the introduction of the numbers, (40 in Q2 and 140 in Q3) would have influenced your answer.
Did it? If it did, you are not alone.
The presence or mention of such numbers generally do influence the responses for a large majority of the people.
This effect, of causing your answer to be influenced by a factor already within the question, is called anchoring.
Our response (decision) changes, or gets influenced, by the presence of the number in the question or problem that is presented to us.
This also happens when we see prices that are marked down with “heavy discounts,” which may influence our buying decision.
For example, an expensive looking product may be shown to be marked down heavily from an “original price” of Rs. 5,600 to a “special discounted price” of Rs. 1,600 tempting potential buyers to grab the awesome bargain!
Lured by the crazy deal, we may tend to ignore the fact that the product price may actually be around Rs. 1,600 itself and the higher price just gave us the impression that the discounted price was a steal!
Anchoring happens in many subtle ways and it is only when we are aware that it can play an influencing role, can we avoid falling into the ANCHORING TRAP.
Well, now you know!
(For those of you who wanted the answer to the Question: The highest typing speed ever recorded was 216 words per minute, set by Stella Pajunas in 1946, using an IBM electric typewriter. See this link. Was your answer close?).
True, It is standard game in Amazon.in most of the time. The example wise , i found some crazy thing . Earlier days there were record players and each had a needle to have 2 different pointers for LP ( long play ) and SP records. The vinyl records playing , needle actual cost is less than Rs 20 . The quoted price was Rs 7550/- and discounted price Rs 2350/-
Funny and I could not resist laughing at the way the sale happens.
Recent ones in ‘shark tank’ the owner or investor of BOAT brand is in profits. All other startups are in loss making situation. Why??
A typical mfg cost of an earphone in china or mass production is less than Rs 10. Sold at Rs 30, 50 or 100 in moving trains , by train vendors.
The average price of such items is Rs 300 to 1200 in the Amazon or Flipkart or Retail stores.
The basic cost of material and production, does not change to a large extent.
Value add is quality checks and using superior wires or connectors , but one can imagine the cost can be at best Rs 100 to 150 , sold at decent profits.
Farmers growing oranges as perishable do not get this type of premium price on food , even if its organic.
Mind of users will not buy such organic stuff , despite beneficial to health.