A multinomial modeling approach to dissociate different components of the truth effect

• Published in: Consciousness and cognition Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 22 - 38
• Main Authors: Unkelbach, Christian, Stahl, Christoph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.03.2009; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Credibility; Cue learning; Culture; Discrimination (Psychology); Experimental psychology; Feedback; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Judgment; Learning. Memory; Male; Memory; Process-dissociation; Processing fluency; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social Environment; Time Factors; Truth Disclosure; Truth judgments; Young Adult; Processing fluency; Truth judgments; Cue learning; Process-dissociation; Human; Process dissociation procedure; Fluence; Memory; Cognition; Experimental study; Learning; Acquisition process; Judgment
• ISSN: 1053-8100; 1090-2376; 1090-2376
• DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2008.09.006

The subjective impression that statements are true increases when statements are presented repeatedly. There are two sources for this truth effect: An increase in validity based on recollection (a controlled process) and increase in processing fluency due to repeated exposure (an automatic process). Using multinomial processing trees (MPT), we present a comprehensive model of the truth effect. Furthermore, we show that whilst the increase in processing fluency is indeed automatic, the interpretation and use of that experience is not. Experiment 1 demonstrates the standard use of the fluency experience and Experiment 2 demonstrates that people can change the interpretation of the experience according to its ecological validity. By implication, the truth effect represents the adaptive usage of feedback received from internal processes.