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Topolinski S, Vogel T, Ingendahl M. Can sequencing of articulation ease explain the in-out effect? A preregistered test. Cogn Emot 2024:1-11. [PMID: 38465892 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2024.2326072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Words whose consonantal articulation places move from the front of the mouth to the back (e.g. BADAKA; inward) receive more positive evaluations than words whose consonantal articulation places move from the back of the mouth to the front (e.g. KADABA; outward). This in-out effect has a variety of affective, cognitive, and even behavioural consequences, but its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Most recently, a linguistic explanation has been proposed applying the linguistic easy-first account and the so-called labial-coronal effect from developmental speech research and phonology to the in-out effect: Labials (front) are easier to process than coronals (middle); and people prefer easy followed by harder motor components. Disentangling consonantal articulation direction and articulation place, the present three preregistered experiments (total N = 1012) found in-out effects for coronal-dorsal (back), and labial-dorsal articulation places. Critically, no in-out effect emerged for labial-coronal articulation places. Thus, the in-out effect is unlikely an instantiation of easy first.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tobias Vogel
- Department of Social Sciences, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Moritz Ingendahl
- Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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2
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Caldwell MP, Cheung H, Cheung SK, Li JB, Carrey Siu TS. Visuospatial perspective-taking in social-emotional development: enhancing young children’s mind and emotion understanding via block building training. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:264. [DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00976-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to represent one's own and others' mental states, and emotion understanding involves appropriately comprehending and responding to others' emotional cues in social interactions. Individual differences in mind and emotion understanding have been associated strongly with verbal ability and interaction and, as such, existing training for children's ToM and emotion understanding is mostly language-based. Building on the literature on embodied cognition, this study proposes that mind and emotion understanding could be facilitated by one's visuospatial experience in simulating other's frames of reference.
Methods
This protocol consists of two training studies. Study 1 will examine if visuospatial perspective-taking training promotes ToM and emotion understanding. Participants will consist of 96 4.5-year-olds and will be randomly assigned to one of two training groups: the altercentric block building group (trained to be visuospatial perspective-takers), or the egocentric block building group (no visuospatial perspective-taking is involved). Study 2 will compare the engagement of visuospatial perspective-taking and verbal interaction in the development of mind and emotion understanding. Participants will consist of 120 4.5-year-olds. They will be randomly assigned to one of three training groups: the socialized altercentric block building (both visuospatial perspective-taking and verbal interaction), the parallel altercentric block building (visuospatial perspective-taking only), or the paired dialogic reading (verbal interaction only).
Conclusions
In terms of theoretical implications, the potential causal relationship between visuospatial perspective-taking and ToM and emotion understanding may shed new insights on what underlies the development of mental state understanding. The findings of this study also have practical implications: researchers and educators may popularize visuospatial perspective-taking training in the form of block-building games if it is found to be effective in complementing conventional language-based theory-of-mind training.
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Topolinski S, Boecker L, Löffler CS, Gusmão B, Ingendahl M. On the emergence of the in-out effect across trials: two items do the trick. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022; 87:1180-1192. [PMID: 35867154 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01715-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Individuals prefer letter strings whose consonantal articulation spots move from the front of the mouth to the back (e.g., BAKA, inward) over those with a reversed consonant order (e.g., KABA, outward), the so-called in-out effect. The present research explores whether individuals hold an internal standard or scheme of consonant order that triggers this effect. If this were the case, the in-out effect should already occur in one-trial between-subjects designs. If not, the in-out effect should emerge over the course of trials in within-subjects designs. In Experiments 1a-e (1b-e preregistered; total N = 2973; German, English, and Portuguese samples) employing a one-trial between-subjects design, no in-out effect was found. In Experiment 2 (N = 253), employing within-subjects designs with either 1, 5, 10, 30, or 50 trials per consonant order category (inward vs. outward), the in-out effect was absent in the first trial, but already surfaced for the first 2 trials, reached significance within the first 10 trials and a solid plateau within the first 20 trials. Of the four theoretical explanations, the present evidence favors the fluency/frequency and letter-position accounts and is at odds with the eating-related embodiment and easy-first accounts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Topolinski
- Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauss-Straße 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Lea Boecker
- Department of Economic Psychology, Social Psychology and Experimental Methods, University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Charlotte S Löffler
- Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauss-Straße 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Beatriz Gusmão
- Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauss-Straße 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Moritz Ingendahl
- Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
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Ingendahl M, Vogel T. Choosing a brand name that's “in” – disgust sensitivity, preference for intuition, and the articulatory in-out effect. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Körner A, Rummer R. What is preferred in the in-out effect: articulation locations or articulation movement direction? Cogn Emot 2021; 36:230-239. [PMID: 34720053 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1996336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Words whose consonant articulation locations move inward (from the front to the back of the mouth) are preferred over words with the opposite consonant articulation location direction, a phenomenon termed the in-out effect. Recently, an alternative explanation for the in-out effect has been proposed based on position-weighted consonant preferences instead of articulation location movement preferences. However, this explanation has only been tested with word fragments. In two experiments, we tested these explanations using both, word fragment and pseudo-word stimuli. For word fragments, preferences could be explained by position-weighted consonant preferences, while, for pseudo-words, stimuli containing articulation location movement were evaluated more favourably than stimuli not containing articulation location movement. Thus, the in-out effect for word stimuli depends on movement of articulation locations. This finding demonstrates that a word's sound symbolic meaning cannot always be explained by its individual letters but can depend on letter sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Körner
- Department of Psychology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Ralf Rummer
- Department of Psychology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
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Ingendahl M, Vogel T, Topolinski S. The articulatory in-out effect: replicable, but inexplicable. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 26:8-10. [PMID: 34728149 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
People prefer inward over outward articulation dynamics, a phenomenon referred to as the articulatory in-out effect. It is empirically robust and generalizes across languages, settings, and stimuli. However, the theoretical explanation of the effect is still a matter of lively debate and in need of novel research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Ingendahl
- Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, DE-61859 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Tobias Vogel
- Department of Social Sciences, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, DE-64295 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sascha Topolinski
- Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, DE-50931 Köln, Germany
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Sounds sweet, sounds bitter: How the presence of certain sounds in a brand name can alter expectations about the product’s taste. Food Qual Prefer 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.103918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Abstract
Words whose articulation resembles ingestion movements are preferred to words mimicking expectoration movements. This so-called in-out effect, suggesting that the oral movements caused by consonantal articulation automatically activate concordant motivational states, was already replicated in languages belonging to Germanic (e.g., German and English) and Italic (e.g., Portuguese) branches of the Indo-European family. However, it remains unknown whether such preference extends to the Indo-European branches whose writing system is based on the Cyrillic rather than Latin alphabet (e.g., Ukrainian), or whether it occurs in languages not belonging to the Indo-European family (e.g., Turkish). We replicated the in-out effect in two high-powered experiments (N = 274), with Ukrainian and Turkish native speakers, further supporting an embodied explanation for this intriguing preference.
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Contiguity-based sound iconicity: The meaning of words resonates with phonetic properties of their immediate verbal contexts. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216930. [PMID: 31095612 PMCID: PMC6522027 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that phonosemantic iconicity--i.e., a motivated resonance of sound and meaning--might not only be found on the level of individual words or entire texts, but also in word combinations such that the meaning of a target word is iconically expressed, or highlighted, in the phonetic properties of its immediate verbal context. To this end, we extracted single lines from German poems that all include a word designating high or low dominance, such as large or small, strong or weak, etc. Based on insights from previous studies, we expected to find more vowels with a relatively short distance between the first two formants (low formant dispersion) in the immediate context of words expressing high physical or social dominance than in the context of words expressing low dominance. Our findings support this hypothesis, suggesting that neighboring words can form iconic dyads in which the meaning of one word is sound-iconically reflected in the phonetic properties of adjacent words. The construct of a contiguity-based phono-semantic iconicity opens many venues for future research well beyond lines extracted from poems.
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Godinho S, Garrido MV, Zürn M, Topolinski S. Oral kinematics: examining the role of edibility and valence in the in-out effect. Cogn Emot 2018; 33:1094-1098. [PMID: 30311837 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1532874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has revealed a stable preference for words with inward consonantal-articulation patterns (from the front to the back of the mouth; e.g. BENOKA), over outward-words (from the back to the front; e.g. KENOBA). Following the oral approach-avoidance account suggesting that the in-out effect is due to the resemblance between consonantal-articulations patterns and ingestion/expectoration, recent findings have shown that when judging inward-outward names for objects with particular oral functions, valence did not modulate the effect while the oral function did. To replicate and examine further the role of edibility and valence in shaping the in-out effect, we asked participants (N = 545) to rate inward and outward names for edible and non-edible products while controlling for valence. Results revealed that the motor-to-affect link was only observed for edible products, regardless of valence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Godinho
- a CIS-ISCTE , Instituto Universitário de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
| | | | - Michael Zürn
- b Social and Economic Cognition II , University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany
| | - Sascha Topolinski
- b Social and Economic Cognition II , University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany
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Gerten J, Topolinski S. Exploring the temporal boundary conditions of the articulatory in-out preference effect. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2018; 84:558-567. [PMID: 30232546 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-018-1095-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Earlier research has documented a preference for words with consonantal articulation patterns that move from the front to the back of the mouth (e.g., MENIKA) over words with reversely wandering consonantal articulation spots (e.g., KENIMA). The present experiments explored the temporal dynamics of the reading process in this in-out preference effect. In three experiments (total N = 344), we gradually reduced the presentation durations of inward and outward wandering words from 1000 ms down to 25 ms to approximate the minimum length of visual stimulus presentation required to trigger the effect. The in-out effect was reliably observed for exposure timings down to 50 ms, but vanished for 25 ms timings, which is line with previous evidence on phonological encoding. Thus, impressively, 50 ms of word presentation is sufficient to evoke the in-out effect. These findings suggest phonological activation to be a prerequisite and thus a driving mechanism of the in-out effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Gerten
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, Social and Economic Cognition, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauss-Straße 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Sascha Topolinski
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, Social and Economic Cognition, University of Cologne, Richard-Strauss-Straße 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany
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12
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Lindau B, Topolinski S. The influence of articulation dynamics on recognition memory. Cognition 2018; 179:37-55. [PMID: 29909280 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated an effect of consonantal direction on preference, showing that words following inward articulation dynamics (e.g., EMOK or OPIK) are generally liked more than words following outward dynamics (e.g., EKOM or OKIP). The present studies extended this line of research by hypothesizing an effect of consonantal direction on recognition memory, specifically familiarity. In a total of 7 experimental studies (N = 1043), we tested and confirmed this hypothesis, consistently finding increased hits and false alarms for inward compared to outward pseudo-words. This difference was found to be based on a higher perceived familiarity for inward compared to outward pseudo-words. Alternative explanations of an affirmation tendency or a recollection advantage were ruled out in Experiments 4 and 5. Experiments 6a and 6b examined the role of articulation fluency and liking as potential mediators of the effect, but found that neither mediated the influence of consonantal direction on familiarity. Thus, the in-out familiarity effect documented here seems to be a phenomenon that is distinct from the previously described in-out preference effect.
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Xie J, Cheung H, Shen M, Wang R. Mental Rotation in False Belief Understanding. Cogn Sci 2018; 42:1179-1206. [PMID: 29453768 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study examines the spontaneous use of embodied egocentric transformation (EET) in understanding false beliefs in the minds of others. EET involves the participants mentally transforming or rotating themselves into the orientation of an agent when trying to adopt his or her visuospatial perspective. We argue that psychological perspective taking such as false belief reasoning may also involve EET because of what has been widely reported in the embodied cognition literature, showing that our processing of abstract, propositional information is often grounded in concrete bodily sensations which are not apparently linked to higher cognition. In Experiment 1, an agent placed a ball into one of two boxes and left. The ball then rolled out and moved either into the other box (new box) or back into the original one (old box). The participants were to decide from which box they themselves or the agent would try to recover the ball. Results showed that false belief performance was affected by increased orientation disparity between the participants and the agent, suggesting involvement of embodied transformation. In Experiment 2, false belief was similarly induced and the participants were to decide if the agent would try to recover the ball in one specific box. Orientation disparity was again found to affect false belief performance. The present results extend previous findings on EET in visuospatial perspective taking and suggest that false belief reasoning, which is a kind of psychological perspective taking, can also involve embodied rotation, consistent with the embodied cognition view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiushu Xie
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University
| | - Him Cheung
- Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong
| | | | - Ruiming Wang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University
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Silva RR, Chrobot N, Newman E, Schwarz N, Topolinski S. Make It Short and Easy: Username Complexity Determines Trustworthiness Above and Beyond Objective Reputation. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2200. [PMID: 29312062 PMCID: PMC5742175 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Can the mere name of a seller determine his trustworthiness in the eye of the consumer? In 10 studies (total N = 608) we explored username complexity and trustworthiness of eBay seller profiles. Name complexity was manipulated through variations in username pronounceability and length. These dimensions had strong, independent effects on trustworthiness, with sellers with easy-to-pronounce or short usernames being rated as more trustworthy than sellers with difficult-to-pronounce or long usernames, respectively. Both effects were repeatedly found even when objective information about seller reputation was available. We hypothesized the effect of name complexity on trustworthiness to be based on the experience of high vs. low processing fluency, with little awareness of the underlying process. Supporting this, participants could not correct for the impact of username complexity when explicitly asked to do so. Three alternative explanations based on attributions of the variations in name complexity to seller origin (ingroup vs. outgroup), username generation method (seller personal choice vs. computer algorithm) and age of the eBay profiles (10 years vs. 1 year) were tested and ruled out. Finally, we show that manipulating the ease of reading product descriptions instead of the sellers’ names also impacts the trust ascribed to the sellers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita R Silva
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nina Chrobot
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Eryn Newman
- Mind and Society Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Norbert Schwarz
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sascha Topolinski
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Topolinski S. Articulation Patterns in Names: A Hidden Route to Consumer Preference. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/692820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Topolinski S, Bakhtiari G, Erle TM. Can I cut the Gordian tnok? The impact of pronounceability, actual solvability, and length on intuitive problem assessments of anagrams. Cognition 2015; 146:439-52. [PMID: 26550802 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2015] [Revised: 09/28/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
When assessing a problem, many cues can be used to predict solvability and solving effort. Some of these cues, however, can be misleading. The present approach shows that a feature of a problem that is actually related to solving difficulty is used as a cue for solving ease when assessing the problem in the first place. For anagrams, it is an established effect that easy-to-pronounce anagrams (e.g., NOGAL) take more time to being solved than hard-to-pronounce anagrams (e.g., HNWEI). However, when assessing an anagram in the first place, individuals use the feature of pronounceability to predict solving ease, because pronounceability is an instantiation of the general mechanism of processing fluency. Participants (total N=536) received short and long anagrams and nonanagrams and judged solvability and solving ease intuitively without actually solving the items. Easy-to-pronounce letter strings were more frequently judged as being solvable than hard-to-pronounce letters strings (Experiment 1), and were estimated to require less effort (Experiments 2, 4-7) and time to be solved (Experiment 3). This effect was robust for short and long items, anagrams and nonanagrams, and presentation timings from 4 down to 0.5s, and affected novices and experts alike. Spontaneous solutions did not mediate this effect. Participants were sensitive to actual solvability even for long anagrams (6-11 letters long) presented only for 500 ms.
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