Disfluent fonts don't help people solve math problems

Andrew Meyer; Shane Frederick; Terence C. Burnham; Juan D. Guevera Pinto; Ty W. Boyer; Linden J. Ball; Gordon Pennycook; Rakefet Ackerman; Valerie A. Thompson; Jonathon P. Schuldt; Juan D. Guevara Pinto

doi:10.1037/xge0000049

Disfluent fonts don't help people solve math problems

Andrew Meyer, Shane Frederick, Terence C. Burnham, Juan D. Guevera Pinto, Ty W. Boyer, Linden J. Ball, Gordon Pennycook, Rakefet Ackerman, Valerie A. Thompson, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Juan D. Guevara Pinto

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

Prior research suggests that reducing font clarity can cause people to consider printed information more carefully. The most famous demonstration showed that participants were more likely to solve counterintuitive math problems when they were printed in hard-to-read font. However, after pooling data from that experiment with 16 attempts to replicate it, we find no effect on solution rates. We examine potential moderating variables, including cognitive ability, presentation format, and experimental setting, but we find no evidence of a disfluent font benefit under any conditions. More generally, though disfluent fonts slightly increase response times, we find little evidence that they activate analytic reasoning.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	e16-e30
Journal	Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Volume	144
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000049
State	Published - Apr 1 2015

Scopus Subject Areas

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Neuroscience
General Psychology

Keywords

Disfluency
Dual-system processing
Fluency
Judgment
Reasoning

Access to Document

10.1037/xge0000049

Cite this

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title = "Disfluent fonts don't help people solve math problems",

abstract = "Prior research suggests that reducing font clarity can cause people to consider printed information more carefully. The most famous demonstration showed that participants were more likely to solve counterintuitive math problems when they were printed in hard-to-read font. However, after pooling data from that experiment with 16 attempts to replicate it, we find no effect on solution rates. We examine potential moderating variables, including cognitive ability, presentation format, and experimental setting, but we find no evidence of a disfluent font benefit under any conditions. More generally, though disfluent fonts slightly increase response times, we find little evidence that they activate analytic reasoning.",

keywords = "Disfluency, Dual-system processing, Fluency, Judgment, Reasoning",

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AU - Frederick, Shane

AU - Burnham, Terence C.

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AU - Ball, Linden J.

AU - Pennycook, Gordon

AU - Ackerman, Rakefet

AU - Thompson, Valerie A.

AU - Schuldt, Jonathon P.

AU - Guevara Pinto, Juan D.

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AB - Prior research suggests that reducing font clarity can cause people to consider printed information more carefully. The most famous demonstration showed that participants were more likely to solve counterintuitive math problems when they were printed in hard-to-read font. However, after pooling data from that experiment with 16 attempts to replicate it, we find no effect on solution rates. We examine potential moderating variables, including cognitive ability, presentation format, and experimental setting, but we find no evidence of a disfluent font benefit under any conditions. More generally, though disfluent fonts slightly increase response times, we find little evidence that they activate analytic reasoning.

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Disfluent fonts don't help people solve math problems

Abstract

Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

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