The presence of images does not moderate the disfluency effect

Abstract

The disfluency effect refers to an enhancement in memory retention when information processing is made challenging. Disfluency is typically induced by altering the perceptual characteristics of information. While the disfluency effect has been demonstrated in several studies, the increasing number of subsequent unsuccessful replications raises concerns. Among the potential reasons for the frequent failure to detect the disfluency effect, we consider the presence of images accompanying text information as a possible moderator. We assume that the disfluency effect will only manifest in the absence of images.

Two experiments were conducted wherein participants were presented with information written either in Arial (fluent condition) or Comic Sans (disfluent condition). The information was also either accompanied by images or presented without images. In the first experiment, the participants (n = 144) were asked to memorize 40 words, while in the second experiment (n = 142) they were presented with 7 fictional facts about the Earth. In both cases, the hypotheses were not confirmed — the disfluency effect did not manifest under any conditions.