title: Fluent, fast, and frugal? A formal model evaluation of the interplay between memory, fluency, and comparative judgments.
abstract: A new process model of the interplay between memory and judgment processes was recently suggested, assuming that retrieval fluency-that is, the speed with which objects are recognized-will determine inferences concerning such objects in a single-cue fashion. This aspect of the fluency heuristic, an extension of the recognition heuristic, has remained largely untested due to methodological difficulties. To overcome the latter, we propose a measurement model from the class of multinomial processing tree models that can estimate true single-cue reliance on recognition and retrieval fluency. We applied this model to aggregate and individual data from a probabilistic inference experiment and considered both goodness of fit and model complexity to evaluate different hypotheses. The results were relatively clear-cut, revealing that the fluency heuristic is an unlikely candidate for describing comparative judgments concerning recognized objects. These findings are discussed in light of a broader theoretical view on the interplay of memory and judgment processes.
authors.affiliation: University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany. hilbig@psychologie.uni-mannheim.de
authors.forename: Benjamin E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Hilbig
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erdfelder
authors.forename: Rüdiger F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Pohl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult