Ahumanprend more than 35,000 decisions per day, most of them being subjective. To manage this constant flow of information and reactions, the brain treats these messages according to a process. This can sometimes lead to errors, known as cognitive biases. " The first impression is the most important " or, " the first impression is always the right one ". Popular, these expressions perfectly illustrate what the anchoring bias .

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Also designated as "starting point bias", he disturbs decision -making. He describes our tendency to give too much importance to the first information received, and the first to be available in memory. Thus, the "initial anchor" strongly marks the brain, encouraging the individual to believe it and to rely more during a decision -making.

«When people took more time to think about the answers provided, they walked more from anchor, this reduced the effect on their decision -making[...].»

According to a study of skills with critical thinking at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakaren 2023.

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An influence on public opinion

This phenomenon partially explains the speed of propagation of an online fake news. As with other cognitive biases, anchoring can influence public opinion, so voluntarily used for influence.

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The "anchoring technique" is also used by negotiators in the field of manipulation. On social networks, but also within unscrupulous media, this bias can be exploited to influence the opinions of the population, create prejudices, unjust generalizations and contribute to the spread of Fake News.

Today, the media world in which everyone evolves is on stimulant. At the heart of societies, infobesity suffered by the populations facilitates the task of the many disinformation campaigns perpetuated today. In fact, the omnipresent overload of news forces only to retain the essentials. False or misleading information can quickly become viral, strengthening prejudices and distorting the perception of the public. This proliferation of disinformation does not only infringe the integrity of information, but also widens social divisions and erodes confidence.

How to protect yourself?

Today, Africa is the playground for disinformation. This in a context of information retention and music it lies in the particularly strong press, in certain countries. It is therefore essential to shed light on the phenomenon and to do it to work to avoid it better.

As a cognitive bias, the anchoring effect is subconscious. The best possible way to counter anchoring is to be aware of its existence. Without falling into an ambient paranoia, cutting a first news with other sources remains the basis of a work of Fact-Checking .

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Also, according to various studies , having a certain level of knowledge on a subject makes it possible to reduce the anchoring effect. Travaille in group gives rise to the sharing of different points of view and contributes to developing his critical mind. This decreases the effect of anchoring bias.