Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm
In a pioneering study, Lev-Ari and Keysar (2010) observed that unknown statements are judged less credible when uttered with foreign accent compared to native accent. This finding was interpreted in terms of processing fluency; when intelligibility is reduced, the credibility of the message decrease...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/353 |
| _version_ | 1797261674048126976 |
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| author | Anna Lorenzoni Rita Faccio Eduardo Navarrete |
| author_facet | Anna Lorenzoni Rita Faccio Eduardo Navarrete |
| author_sort | Anna Lorenzoni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In a pioneering study, Lev-Ari and Keysar (2010) observed that unknown statements are judged less credible when uttered with foreign accent compared to native accent. This finding was interpreted in terms of processing fluency; when intelligibility is reduced, the credibility of the message decreases. Here, we use the illusory truth paradigm to explore how accent affects credibility. In a between-participant design, participants were exposed to unknown statements uttered by native-accented or foreign-accented speakers. After a distractor task, the same statements were presented with new statements, and participants assessed their truthfulness. Truthfulness ratings were higher for repeated statements than for new statements, replicating the illusory truth effect. Contrary to the processing fluency hypothesis, the effect was similar in both the foreign-accented and native-accented speech groups. A new group of participants rated the speakers’ voices on various social traits. A negative bias against foreign speakers was observed. However, this negative-bias did not affect truth ratings.The impact of foreign-accented speech on message credibility is discussed in the context of two factors, processing fluency and out-group stereotype activation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:44:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de2badaf95b6499283cd05ce1cdc9700 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2514-4820 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:44:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cognition |
| spelling | doaj.art-de2badaf95b6499283cd05ce1cdc97002024-03-15T08:12:19ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Cognition2514-48202024-02-0171262610.5334/joc.353352Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth ParadigmAnna Lorenzoni0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5088-2660Rita Faccio1Eduardo Navarrete2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7619-8397Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, 35131Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, 35131Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, 35131In a pioneering study, Lev-Ari and Keysar (2010) observed that unknown statements are judged less credible when uttered with foreign accent compared to native accent. This finding was interpreted in terms of processing fluency; when intelligibility is reduced, the credibility of the message decreases. Here, we use the illusory truth paradigm to explore how accent affects credibility. In a between-participant design, participants were exposed to unknown statements uttered by native-accented or foreign-accented speakers. After a distractor task, the same statements were presented with new statements, and participants assessed their truthfulness. Truthfulness ratings were higher for repeated statements than for new statements, replicating the illusory truth effect. Contrary to the processing fluency hypothesis, the effect was similar in both the foreign-accented and native-accented speech groups. A new group of participants rated the speakers’ voices on various social traits. A negative bias against foreign speakers was observed. However, this negative-bias did not affect truth ratings.The impact of foreign-accented speech on message credibility is discussed in the context of two factors, processing fluency and out-group stereotype activation.https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/353foreign-accented speechcredibilityfluency processingillusory-truth effectintelligibilityforeignnessout-group stereotype |
| spellingShingle | Anna Lorenzoni Rita Faccio Eduardo Navarrete Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm Journal of Cognition foreign-accented speech credibility fluency processing illusory-truth effect intelligibility foreignness out-group stereotype |
| title | Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm |
| title_full | Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm |
| title_fullStr | Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm |
| title_short | Does Foreign-Accented Speech Affect Credibility? Evidence from the Illusory-Truth Paradigm |
| title_sort | does foreign accented speech affect credibility evidence from the illusory truth paradigm |
| topic | foreign-accented speech credibility fluency processing illusory-truth effect intelligibility foreignness out-group stereotype |
| url | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/353 |
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