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If it's difficult to pronounce, it must be risky
Hyunjin Song1, Norbert Schwarz
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA.
Psychological Science
|January 28, 2009
Summary
Processing fluency impacts risk perception. Difficult-to-pronounce stimuli, like food additives or amusement park rides, are perceived as riskier due to increased novelty, regardless of whether the risk is desirable or undesirable.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Risk Perception
- Decision Making
Background:
- Processing fluency, the ease with which information is processed, influences cognitive judgments.
- Familiarity and perceived risk are often linked, with unfamiliar stimuli potentially eliciting greater caution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between processing fluency and risk perception.
- To determine if perceived novelty mediates the effect of processing fluency on risk perception.
- To examine this effect for both desirable and undesirable risks.
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted using varying stimuli (food additives, amusement park rides).
- Participants rated stimuli on perceived harm, sickness likelihood, excitement, and adventurousness.
- Name pronunciation difficulty was manipulated to alter processing fluency.
- Mediation analyses were employed to test the role of perceived novelty.
Main Results:
- Stimuli with difficult-to-pronounce names were rated as more harmful and riskier.
- This effect was mediated by increased perceptions of novelty.
- Difficult-to-pronounce names increased perceptions of both undesirable risks (sickness) and desirable risks (excitement, adventure).
Conclusions:
- Low processing fluency enhances perceptions of novelty, leading to heightened risk assessments.
- The impact of processing fluency on risk perception extends to both negative and positive outcomes.
- Understanding processing fluency is crucial for predicting risk-related judgments.
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