Anchoring bias is a cognitive bias that causes individuals to rely too heavily on the first piece of information given to him/her about a topic. Once the anchor is set in the individual’s mind, subsequent arguments, estimates, etc., made may be unduly influenced by the anchor, leading to additional errors in performance and/or judgement. Anchoring bias is closely related to confirmation bias and comes into play when interpreting evidence. It refers to physicians' practices of prioritizing information and data that support their initial impressions, even when first impressions are wrong. These biases in medicine and surgery can have devastating impact on patient care and outcomes.
Anchoring Bias in Medicine