From the empathy gap to the halo effect , a number of cognitive biases impact our relationships. These mental shortcuts or flaws in our thinking play a major role in the way we interact with ourselves and others, so its only natural theyve come to make headlines over the years. But one type of cognitive bias that doesnt get as much attention in the interpersonal realm is anchoring bias.

Anchoring bias is a cognitive bias where people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive the anchor when making decisions or judgments, even if that information is irrelevant or of questionable accuracy, Mabel Yiu, a marriage and family therapist and CEO of Womens Therapy Institute , told HuffPost. Individuals can struggle to adjust their subsequent judgments or decisions when faced with additional, conflicting information after setting an anchor.

Anchoring bias is rarely conscious, but it can lead to skewed decision-making, as people make general and often inaccurate assumptions about a situation or person. They might overestimate or underestimate somethings true value and fail to rationally adjust their views, even after receiving more reliable information.

Although the concept frequently arises with regard to money and business, anchoring bias can also affect our personal relationships, particularly with romantic partners and friends. Below, Yiu and other experts break down the ways this bias plays out in our experiences with other people and how to lessen its negative impact.

Anchoring bias can put too much stock in bad first impressions.

The tendency we have to make assumptions about a person based on an early experience or piece of information means an early impression sticks with us in such a way that future experience with that person is filtered through that lens, said Tracy Ross , a licensed clinical social worker specializing in couples and family therapy. Say someone gets drunk at a party when we first meet them. In future interactions, we look for signs or interpret any drinking to mean that they have a drinking problem.

If someone insists on only paying their share of the lunch tab the first time you dine together, you might assume theyre very frugal, when in reality they may simply have forgotten their credit card and only had just enough cash to cover their meal. And even after learning this truth later, you may still have an impression that theyre on the cheap side.

Similarly, if youre told that someone is cold and standoffish before you meet them, you may spend your entire first interaction waiting for them to behave in this way or interpreting small actions as coldness, even if theyre perfectly warm and pleasant. Once an idea is embedded, its hard to shake.

It can be frustrating to the person who gets mischaracterized by others for a rare mistake or unique circumstance, and can trigger old childhood wounds, as many of us were typecast or pigeon-holed as a certain kind of person when we were young, said marriage and family therapist Becky Whetstone . Its painful when people wont see you differently or allow you to evolve, grow and be different over time.