The fluency heuristic in recognition memory: The effect of repetition

Five experiments investigate whether the attribution of processing fluency to recognition memory depends on the amount of fluency that is expected from targets based on the frequency with which they appeared during an earlier study phase. Subjects studied targets either one or five times and then were given a recognition test that included a priming phase to enhance the fluency of half of the test items. Results showed that the priming phase had a greater influence on recognition responses when targets had been presented once than when they had been presented five times. However, an interaction between fluency and target frequency was found only when frequency was manipulated between-subjects. An interaction between the priming manipulation and target frequency was also found using a "counterfeit" manipulation of frequency, suggesting that attributions of fluency are adjusted according to subjects’ expectations for the amount of fluency that should result from previous experiences with a stimulus.