Spontaneous anchors bias consumers’ divisions, judgments, and behavior

Consumers often have to make divisions to evaluate attributes. In seven experiments (total N = 3841, six preregistered), this research shows how spontaneous anchors bias divisions. That is, consumers will recruit typical values of the attribute from memory and use them as priors when dividing. This process biases consumers’ judgments and subsequent behavior. When the actual attribute quotient is above the attribute prior, it tends to be underestimated, and when it is below the attribute prior, it tends to be overestimated. This research examines when the attribute of interest is a company’s median wage. Consumers’ intuitive approach results in corresponding changes in the perceived fairness of employee pay and can, in turn, affect downstream company evaluations, willingness-to-pay, and product choice. The authors discuss theoretical implications for consumers’ numerical cognition, anchoring, and perceptions of income inequality. Practical implications for the management of and policymaking around product attribute information communication and for income inequality are also discussed.