Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because most people want to look reasonable at a job interview. However, one thing people miss is that the anchoring can be to any number whatsoever, so you don't even need to talk about what you want per hour. I remember a paper that asked participants to note down the last two digits of their social security, and subjects anchored themselves to that (statistically significantly- one of the authors was Dan Ariely).…
I remember a paper that asked participants to note down the last two digits of their social security, and subjects anchored themselves to that (statistically significantly- one of the authors was Dan Ariely). Do you have a link? I am very skeptical that merely tossing out large-sounding numbers during an interview would have any influence on your likely salary range. In situations like that, your potential employer u…
Btw, note that initial anchors grossly affect the decision; subsequent anchors are less effective. So, if the interviewer already has a figure in mind (or worse, has written it down), then you really have a lower chance of swaying the number. "making a fairly strong suggestion" may not move the anchor much.
However, if neither knows a reasonable number, then any anchoring is significant (including numbers not pre-pended with a dollar sign- Kahnenann's 1974 paper).