Do valuers have a greater tendency to adjust a previous valuation upwards or downwards?

Valuers are often aware of previous valuation figures or have knowledge of transaction prices when carrying out valuation instructions. This most frequently occurs in two important types of valuation instructions: loan security valuations and investment asset valuations. Earlier research has suggested that valuers may be biased by this knowledge. This paper examines experimentally whether valuers have a greater tendency to adjust a valuation upwards when they have knowledge of a previous low valuation than they are to adjust a valuation downwards when they have knowledge of a previous high valuation. The paper is a preliminary study utilising student valuers as the study group. The findings of the experiment suggest that the hypothesis is correct. Further research is suggested.