Anchoring Effect In Age Estimation

Age estimation plays a very important role in our daily life, accurate age estimation not only contribute to good interaction between us and others, but also can help us to make better decisions. In age estimation process, the researchers found a particular phenomenon: young people tend to underestimate the age of the individual,while the elderly show an opposite trend. Studies have pointed out that this may be due to the existence of the anchoring effect in age estimation. The anchoring effect suggests that information about age of particular individual such as familiar member or the estimator himself could affect the result of age estimation as an anchor which acts as a reference. As a result, age estimation tends to the age of anchor. The research on the anchoring effect in the age estimation can deepen our understanding of the age estimation process and its influencing factors.Some researchers put forward the possibility of anchoring effect in the study of the age estimation. Then, there are others who tested the anchoring effect in estimate age through simple data analysis. But the conclusion is various. Some researchers have confirmed it, while there are also people who denied it. In addition, some researchers suggested that this instability may be influenced by other factors. In any case, the researchers did not study the anchoring effect of the age estimation thoroughly. Is there an anchoring effect in age estimation? Who might be the anchor in age estimation?Could it be the estimator himself, the family members, or friends? These questions are still waiting to be answered.In order to explore these three issues, we designed and carried out four experiments. In the first study, we set three anchor groups(low anchor, medium anchor,and high) to explore whether the anchor value will affect the age estimation results, in order to verify whether the traditional anchoring effect exists in the study of age estimation. Aimed to investigate the possible age estimation the main anchor object,correlation analysis of anchor estimation results and age was made, which proved the existence of anchor in family members, friends and the estimator himself or herself. In the third study, in order to encourage subjects to take self-image as an anchor in age estimation, they were asked to compare age between given photos and himself or herself. In the last study, four subjects were asked to recall the facial features, and things done together with them about the most familiar friends or family members to induce anchoring effect.The results show that:(1) Anchoring effect does exist in age estimation. With age increasing, subjects turns to overvalued the age of people in target photos;(2) Age of individual is significantly correlated to error and relative error of age estimation, family members’ and friends’ age is significantly correlated to error and relative error of age estimation.(3) Self anchoring effect does exist in age estimation. In experimental group,which subjects were asked to compare age of people in given photos with themselves,the estimation error and relative error of given photos’ age increase with the increasing of subjects’ age.(4) Family anchoring effect and friends anchoring effect do exist in age estimation. In import group, which subjects were asked to recall the facial features, and things done together with them about the most familiar friends or family members, the estimation error and relative error of given photos’ age increase with the increasing of members’ age.