Does ease mediate the ease-of-retrieval effect? A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Individuals frequently rely on feelings, not just facts, for decision-making.
• The ease-of-retrieval effect suggests subjective ease of generating examples influences judgment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analytically assess the robustness of the ease-of-retrieval effect.
• To determine the extent to which subjective ease mediates this effect.
• To investigate moderators influencing the ease-of-retrieval effect.

Main Methods:

• Meta-analysis of 142 papers, 263 studies, and 582 effect sizes.
• Analysis of the standard few-versus-many example generation manipulation.
• Examination of experimental conditions and moderator manipulations.

Main Results:

• The standard ease-of-retrieval manipulation shows a medium-sized effect.
• Subjective ease mediates approximately one-third to one-half of the effect.
• Publication bias was found to reduce the observed effect size.
• Theory-based moderators significantly influenced effects, while method-based moderators did not.

Conclusions:

• The ease-of-retrieval effect is robust but not solely mediated by subjective ease.
• Publication bias inflates the reported effect size.
• Understanding moderators is crucial for predicting the effect's direction and magnitude.