Pronounceability Effect

Pronounceability Effect

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

The finding that words and names that are easy to say are judged more favourably, and those hard to say as less familiar and riskier.

What it is

Mood did not change how much people relied on it in six experiments. It is drawn from work by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz (2009).

In effect

In the article on why an easy name feels safer, easy and hard invented words judged for liking and trust.

What it does not say

Mood did not change how much people relied on it in six experiments, and the effect resisted correction. It does not say that easy names are better on every judgement, and it concerns invented words and names more than real products.

Sources

  1. Song, H., & Schwarz, N. (2009). If It's Difficult to Pronounce, It Must Be Risky: Fluency, Familiarity, and Risk Perception. Psychological Science, 20(2), 135-138.
  2. Löffler, C. S., Naber, D., Weiger, N., Zürn, M. K., Silva, R. R., Ingendahl, M., & Topolinski, S. (2024). Mood and fluency: The case of pronunciation ease, liking and trust. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54(3), 643-657.