Underpowered studies and exaggerated effects: A replication and re‐evaluation of the magnitude of anchoring effects

C-Tier
Journal: Economic Inquiry
Year: 2025
Volume: 63
Issue: 2
Pages: 387-402

Authors (4)

Tongzhe Li (not in RePEc) Collin Weigel (not in RePEc) Paul Ferraro (Johns Hopkins University) Kent D. Messer (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.251 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We reconsider one of the most widely studied behavioral biases: anchoring effects. We estimate that study designs in this literature, including replication studies, routinely fail to achieve statistical power of more than 30%. This study replicates an anchoring study that reported an effect size of a 31% increase in participants' bids. In the replication, we increased the design's statistical power from 46% to 96%, reducing the average exaggeration of a statistically significant result by a factor of seven. Our replication results reject the size of the original estimated effects. We find an estimated effect of 3.4% (95% CI [−3.4%, 10%]).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:ecinqu:v:63:y:2025:i:2:p:387-402
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25