The study examined how reducing processing fluency through text manipulations (reordering sentences, using novel fonts, or substituting synonyms) could improve long-term retention compared to an unaltered control text. Students read passages and provided judgments of learning (JOLs) before taking immediate and delayed tests. While JOLs increased after each reading, the text manipulations did not significantly affect performance on application or recall questions in the immediate or delayed tests compared to the control.

1. • The Processing Fluency Illusion occurs when attributions are made to familiar or
“fluent” stimuli. Students often attribute comprehension to fluency when studying text.1
• Fluency illusions result in inflated Judgments of Learning (JOL) relative to test scores.2
• Previous studies show that disfluency—the subjective experience of difficulty
associated with a cognitive task—leads to deeper processing and improved memory
performance. Disfluency has been demonstrated at a perceptual level only.3
Research Questions
1. Can eliminating familiar elements of study enhance long-term retention by reducing
processing fluency?
2. Can semantic and perceptual text manipulations alter JOLs?
Introduction
Influence of Disfluency in Mediating Long-Term Retention
Nabil Khaja, Amy A. Pachai, Joseph A. Kim
McMaster University
Read
Passage x3JOL
(0 – 100)
Test
10 Recall Questions
10 Application Questions
Test
10 Recall Questions
10 Application Questions
1 Week
Design
2 Test Dates x 4 Text Manipulations
Repeated Measures Factorial ANOVA
Method
Results
Discussion
Conditions
• Control: Same passage read 3 times
• Re-Order: Sentences presented in a novel order for each reading
• Font: Novel font used for each reading. i.e., Haettenschweiler , Monotype Corsiva
• Synonyms: Substitute new synonyms after each reading
Passages were manipulated in each condition to reduce fluency
• JOLs increased significantly after each reading
• Main effect of testing delay for recall questions
• No main effect of text manipulations for application or recall questions
1. A previous study showed disfluency enhanced retention by requiring participants to
memorize 21 pieces of information spread across 3 stimuli each containing <20
words. The current study’s passage contains 275 words. The effect of disfluency
may not persist for stimuli presented over an extended period of time because
students become accustomed to manipulation.3
2. Repeated exposures of content, regardless of the manner of presentation, may
induce processing fluency. An effect of disfluency has only been shown across
different passages, as opposed repeated exposures to similar content in varying
formats
1Koriat, A., & Ma’ayan, H. (2005). The effects of encoding fluency and retrieval fluency on judgments of learning. Journal of Memory and Language, 52(4), 478-492.
2Bjork, R. A., Dunlosky, J., & Kornell, N. (2013). Self-regulated learning: Beliefs, techniques, and illusions. Annual review of psychology, 64, 417-444.
3Diemand-Yauman, Connor, Daniel M. Oppenheimer & Erikka B. Vaughan. (2011) Fortune favors the bold (and the italic): Effects of disfluency on educational outcomes. Cognition, 118 (1),111-115.
Immediate Delayed
Test
Immediate Delayed
Test
Immediate Delayed
Test
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