Real estate list price anchoring and cognitive ability

Purpose This paper aims to revisit the issue of anchoring effects in real estate markets to consider the current dual-processing theory of mind. Design/methodology/approach The effects of high and low anchors in a price estimation task are, thus, explained by both Systems 1 and 2 as these play a key role in the guess of the “correct” list price. The authors also take into account the mediation of overconfidence in the estimates and how confidence relates to cognitive ability. Moreover, the authors nuance the field experiment by considering the decisions taken by professional real estate agents and amateur students alike because experts are expected to be less prone to cognitive biases. Findings The large anchoring index of 67 per cent found for the real estate agents suggests these professionals make their judgment unconsciously by priming (and thus, using their System 1), despite being overconfident. In contrast, an even larger anchoring index for the undergraduates (86 per cent) was found, as expected for nonexperts. However, the authors suggest the students’ judgments use their System 2 because they are clueless in their non-anchored estimates and, as result, consider the list prices as a heuristic to deliberately anchor and adjust. Originality/value Anchoring effects in real estate markets have not been approached so far by the dual-processing theory of mind.

The role of self-reports in the study of news production

For decades, scholars have known that much of journalistic practice is motivated by habits that lie beyond the conscious reflection of journalists. Yet, when studying news production, scholars often rely on methods, like interviewing, which elicit consciously articulated self-reports from journalists. Doing so leaves unexplored the comparatively vast terrain of news production driven by pre-reflective motivations. Borrowing from the dual-processing theory of human cognition, this article explores what methods like interviewing can and cannot explain about news production. It also discusses alternative methods specifically designed to investigate the role of ‘practical consciousness’ in behavior. The benefits of this exercise are several, including greater clarity about the sorts of claims that can be made on the basis of self-reported data, better alignment between theories and methods in the study of news production, and consideration of alternative methods for accessing the parts of journalistic practice that work in implicit and unconscious ways.

Vital Opportunity

The concept of a vital or life force is integral to homeopathic practice and one of the many departure points from mainstream medicine. Dual-processing theory is presented by researchers as an explanation for why some people can and others cannot think vitalistically.