Institute of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Hauptstrasse 47-51, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
Psychol Res. 2022 Feb;86(1):12-36. doi: 10.1007/s00426-020-01459-1. Epub 2021 Jan 23.
People are more likely to judge repeatedly perceived statements as true. A decisive explanation for this so-called truth effect is that the repeated information can be processed more fluently than new information and that this fluency experience renders the information more familiar and trustworthy. Little is known, however, regarding whether and how affective states and dispositional cognitive preferences influence the truth effect. To this end, we conducted two experiments in which we manipulated (a) processing fluency via repetition, (b) the time interval (10 min vs. 1 week) between repetitions, and (c) short-term affective states using the presentation of emotional faces (Experiment 1) or the presence of an irrelevant source for changes in affective states (Experiment 2). Additionally, we assessed the dispositional variables need for cognitive closure (NCC), preference for deliberation (PD) and preference for intuition (PI). Results of Experiment 1 showed that the truth effect was significantly reduced for statements that were followed by a negative prime, although this was the case only for the longer repetition lag. Furthermore, higher NCC and lower PD scores were associated with an increased truth effect. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the moderating role of NCC and further showed that participants, who were provided with an alternative source for changes in their affective states, showed a reduced truth effect. Together, the findings suggest that (a) fluency-related changes in affective states may be (co-)responsible for the truth effect, (b) the truth effect is decreased when the repetition interval is long rather than short, and (c) the truth effect is increased for individuals with a higher need for cognitive closure. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
人们更倾向于判断多次感知到的陈述为真实的。对于这种所谓的“真实效应”，一个决定性的解释是，重复的信息可以比新信息更流畅地被处理，而这种流畅的体验使信息更加熟悉和可信。然而，人们对于情感状态和认知偏好是否以及如何影响真实效应知之甚少。为此，我们进行了两项实验，在实验中我们通过重复来操纵（a）处理流畅度，（b）重复之间的时间间隔（10 分钟与 1 周），以及（c）通过呈现情绪面孔（实验 1）或为情绪变化提供无关的来源（实验 2）来操纵短期情感状态。此外，我们评估了认知封闭需求（NCC）、深思熟虑偏好（PD）和直觉偏好（PI）这三个认知倾向的倾向性变量。实验 1 的结果表明，尽管只是在较长的重复滞后情况下，紧随负面提示的陈述的真实效应显著降低。此外，较高的 NCC 和较低的 PD 分数与增加的真实效应相关。实验 2 的结果复制了 NCC 的调节作用，并进一步表明，为情感状态变化提供替代来源的参与者表现出降低的真实效应。总之，这些发现表明（a）与流畅性相关的情感状态变化可能是（共同）导致真实效应的原因，（b）当重复间隔较长而不是较短时，真实效应会降低，（c）对于认知封闭需求较高的个体，真实效应会增加。讨论了这些发现的理论意义。
