Testing the fluency account for truth judgments.

Abstract

Truthiness is the increased likelihood to rate claims true when claims are paired with conceptually related (but nonprobative) information (usually photos). The fluency account holds that photos facilitate the processing of conceptual information shared between the photos and the claims, increasing the ease of processing the claims relative to no-photo claims (an increase in relative fluency-a cue for familiarity and truth). In three experiments, we tested the fluency account using response time as a separate measure of fluency. In Experiment 1, we manipulated relative fluency by varying the proportion of photo-absent to photo-present claims. Photo-present claims were processed more quickly than photo-absent claims, but our relative fluency manipulation did not impact truthiness. In Experiment 2A, we varied the type of media presented with the claims: photo, audio, or photo + audio. We hypothesized that photo + audio media would better facilitate the processing of the claims and produce larger truthiness effects and faster response times. Instead, in Experiment 2A, we observed equal truthiness across photo, audio, and photo + audio claims and a trend toward faster response times when evaluating photo + audio claims compared to other media types. In Experiment 2B, we replicated the truthiness effect for audio and replicated the response time findings from Experiment 1. Consistent with the fluency account, related photos and audio similarly increase the speed of processing claims and similarly increase belief in claims. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).