Final answer:
The anchoring and adjustment heuristic, or anchoring effect, refers to the tendency to rely heavily on initial information (anchors) when making judgments or estimates. This bias can influence decision-making and problem-solving by leading to inaccurate judgments based on initial values.
Step-by-step explanation:
The anchoring and adjustment heuristic, or anchoring effect, is a cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on initial information (anchors) when making judgments or estimates. This bias occurs even when the initial value is arbitrary or unrelated to the actual value being estimated. The availability heuristic is related to anchoring bias, as it refers to the tendency to evaluate new information based on the most recent or easily recalled examples.
An example of anchoring bias is when people are given a random number as an anchor and asked to estimate a quantity. Even if the anchor value is unrelated, individuals find it difficult to deviate significantly from the initial value in their estimations. This bias can affect decision-making and problem-solving by leading to inaccurate judgments based on a reliance on initial information.