Safe and Easy Or Risky and Burdensome? Fluency Effects on Risk Perception and Effort Prediction

Six experiments extend the exploration of processing fluency to risk perception and effort prediction. Participants perceived food additives and amusement park rides as safer when their names were easy rather than difficult to pronounce (exp. 1-3). This effect is shown to be distinct from preferences based on affect. Moreover, participants inferred that preparing a recipe or completing an exercise routine take longer, and require more effort and skill, when the print font was difficult rather than easy to read, with negative consequences for their willingness to engage in the behavior (exp. 4-6).

Citation:

Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz (2009) ,"Safe and Easy Or Risky and Burdensome? Fluency Effects on Risk Perception and Effort Prediction", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 8-11.