Uninformative Photos Can Increase People's Perceived Knowledge of Complicated Processes

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Brittany A. Cardwell - , Victoria University of Wellington (Author)
  • D. Stephen Lindsay - , University of Victoria BC (Author)
  • Katharina Förster - , University of Münster (Author)
  • Maryanne Garry - , Victoria University of Wellington (Author)

Abstract

To what extent can photos influence people's evaluations of their own knowledge? For example, can photos affect how well people think they understand processes? To answer this question, in six experiments we asked people to indicate how well they understood various processes (such as how rainbows form). Sometimes the processes that were described appeared after a related photo (such as a photo of a rainbow) whereas other times the processes appeared alone. People tended to report that they understood processes that appeared with photos better than processes that appeared alone. This pattern fits with the idea that photos make it easier to generate relevant thoughts and images—an experience people tend to interpret as evidence that they know or understand related information.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)244-252
Number of pages9
Journal Journal of applied research in memory and cognition : JARMAC
Volume6
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2017
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Cognitive fluency, Knowledge, Metacognition, Photos, Understanding

Library keywords