How are real artworks and reproductions judged? The role of anchoring in empirical investigations of the genuineness effect

The anchoring effect is one of the most robust findings in psychology. In its most general form, the anchoring effect entails that people make relative judgements and decisions compared to some reference point or “anchor”. In the current study, we investigate if the anchoring effect could explain why a genuineness effect—a difference in aesthetic experience between a physical work of art and its (digital) reproduction—has so far not been found in empirical work. As our world becomes more digital, our interactions with art increasingly occur online through reproductions. Therefore, a better understanding of the genuineness effect—or lack thereof—could have a far-reaching impact in how we engage with art in a digital world. Our results indicate that an anchoring effect cannot explain a lack of empirical evidence for the genuineness effect. We discuss how our results can push both the specific research on genuineness and the related discussions of digitalization and the arts, but also psychological research into art experience, further.