Cognitive bias
Anchoring
Let the first number you see shape every judgement that follows, even when it's arbitrary.
Let the first number you see shape every judgement that follows, even when it's arbitrary.
Example
A jacket marked "was £300, now £120" feels like a bargain, even if £120 was always its normal price.
Anchoring is the tendency to judge later numbers relative to the first one you saw, even when that first number has no real connection to the true value.
Retailers use this constantly: a crossed-out “original” price sets the anchor, making the sale price feel like a discount regardless of what the item is actually worth.
Before judging whether a number is good or bad, ask what it would look like with no anchor at all, based on independent information.