Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America
Self-reported retrospective survey data is widely used in empirical work but may be subject to cognitive biases, even over relatively short recall periods. This paper examines the role of anchoring bias in self-reports of objective and subjective outcomes under recall. We use a unique panel-survey d...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Wiley
2018
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145855 |
| _version_ | 1855515832896978944 |
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| author | Godlonton, Susan Hernandez, Manuel A. Murphy, Mike |
| author_browse | Godlonton, Susan Hernandez, Manuel A. Murphy, Mike |
| author_facet | Godlonton, Susan Hernandez, Manuel A. Murphy, Mike |
| author_sort | Godlonton, Susan |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Self-reported retrospective survey data is widely used in empirical work but may be subject to cognitive biases, even over relatively short recall periods. This paper examines the role of anchoring bias in self-reports of objective and subjective outcomes under recall. We use a unique panel-survey dataset of smallholder farmers from four countries in Central America collected over a period of three years. We exploit differences between recalled and concurrent responses to quantify the degree of mental anchoring in survey recall data. We assess whether respondents use their reported value for the most recent period as a cognitive heuristic when recalling the value from a previous period, while controlling for the value they reported earlier. The results show strong evidence of sizeable anchoring bias in self-reported retrospective indicators for both objective measures (income, wages, and working hours) and subjective measures (reports of happiness, health, stress, and well-being). We also generally observe a larger bias in response to negative changes for objective indicators and a larger bias in response to positive changes for subjective indicators. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace145855 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateRange | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1458552025-02-24T06:46:38Z Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America Godlonton, Susan Hernandez, Manuel A. Murphy, Mike microeconomics data analysis surveys anchoring data collection capacity development smallholders errors Self-reported retrospective survey data is widely used in empirical work but may be subject to cognitive biases, even over relatively short recall periods. This paper examines the role of anchoring bias in self-reports of objective and subjective outcomes under recall. We use a unique panel-survey dataset of smallholder farmers from four countries in Central America collected over a period of three years. We exploit differences between recalled and concurrent responses to quantify the degree of mental anchoring in survey recall data. We assess whether respondents use their reported value for the most recent period as a cognitive heuristic when recalling the value from a previous period, while controlling for the value they reported earlier. The results show strong evidence of sizeable anchoring bias in self-reported retrospective indicators for both objective measures (income, wages, and working hours) and subjective measures (reports of happiness, health, stress, and well-being). We also generally observe a larger bias in response to negative changes for objective indicators and a larger bias in response to positive changes for subjective indicators. 2018-03-01 2024-06-21T09:05:11Z 2024-06-21T09:05:11Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145855 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146341 Open Access Wiley Godlonton, Susan; Hernandez, Manuel A.; and Murphy, Mike. 2018. Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 100(2): 479-501. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aax080 |
| spellingShingle | microeconomics data analysis surveys anchoring data collection capacity development smallholders errors Godlonton, Susan Hernandez, Manuel A. Murphy, Mike Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title | Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title_full | Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title_fullStr | Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title_short | Anchoring bias in recall data: Evidence from Central America |
| title_sort | anchoring bias in recall data evidence from central america |
| topic | microeconomics data analysis surveys anchoring data collection capacity development smallholders errors |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145855 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT godlontonsusan anchoringbiasinrecalldataevidencefromcentralamerica AT hernandezmanuela anchoringbiasinrecalldataevidencefromcentralamerica AT murphymike anchoringbiasinrecalldataevidencefromcentralamerica |