IB Psychology Internal Assessment
A Partial Replication of Oppenheimer and Yauman et al’s Study Investigating The Effect of
Perceptual Disfluency on Memory Retention (2010)
Candidate Code: ksh100
Candidate codes of other members: ksh053, ksh084, ksh079
Session: May 2024
Word count: 2000
1
,Table of contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 3
Exploration........................................................................................................................... 4
Analysis................................................................................................................................ 7
Descriptive Statistics............................................................................................................ 7
Inferential Statistics..............................................................................................................8
Evaluation.............................................................................................................................8
References.......................................................................................................................... 12
Appendix I: Reading passage............................................................................................. 13
Appendix II: Standardized Instructions and debriefing..................................................... 17
Appendix III: Consent form............................................................................................... 20
Appendix IV: Answer form and List of questions............................................................. 22
Appendix V: Raw Data Table.............................................................................................24
Appendix VI: Mann-Whitney U Test Calculator............................................................... 25
2
, Introduction
Perception and memory are fundamental cognitive processes that shape our understanding of
the world. The human brain continually processes information, from written words to visual
elements, and our ability to retain and recall such information is key to learning and
education. The concept of perceptual disfluency is an intriguing aspect of the relationship
between perception and memory.
Concerning the disfluency theory, disfluency is referred to as a form of metacognition, in
which learners assign their cognitive resources based on a subjective sense of the difficulty of
a cognitive task (Alter et al 2007). The concept gained attention following a study conducted
by Oppenheimer and Yauman et al (2010), called “Fortune Favor the Bold (and the
Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Education Outcomes” which explores the influence of
perceptual disfluency on memory retention and the potential implications it has on education
settings. Perceptual disfluency can take on various forms, such as unfamiliar fonts, which we
will be focusing on, colours, or even presentation styles. The study conducted by
Oppenheimer and Yauman et al focused on the effect of presenting information in various
fonts, which were less legible and more visually challenging compared to the standard font.
Their study aimed to investigate whether the increased cognitive effort that was required to
process the difficult font would have an effect on memory retention and how it would mirror
situations such as exams.
Oppenheimer and Yauman et al conducted their study by giving participants stories about
various kinds of aliens, these stories would include basic descriptive features such as physical
appearance. Using an independent measure design, participants were given either a fluent or
disfluent font (Bodoni MT at 75% greyscale 12 font size and Arial 100% black and 16 font
3
A Partial Replication of Oppenheimer and Yauman et al’s Study Investigating The Effect of
Perceptual Disfluency on Memory Retention (2010)
Candidate Code: ksh100
Candidate codes of other members: ksh053, ksh084, ksh079
Session: May 2024
Word count: 2000
1
,Table of contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 3
Exploration........................................................................................................................... 4
Analysis................................................................................................................................ 7
Descriptive Statistics............................................................................................................ 7
Inferential Statistics..............................................................................................................8
Evaluation.............................................................................................................................8
References.......................................................................................................................... 12
Appendix I: Reading passage............................................................................................. 13
Appendix II: Standardized Instructions and debriefing..................................................... 17
Appendix III: Consent form............................................................................................... 20
Appendix IV: Answer form and List of questions............................................................. 22
Appendix V: Raw Data Table.............................................................................................24
Appendix VI: Mann-Whitney U Test Calculator............................................................... 25
2
, Introduction
Perception and memory are fundamental cognitive processes that shape our understanding of
the world. The human brain continually processes information, from written words to visual
elements, and our ability to retain and recall such information is key to learning and
education. The concept of perceptual disfluency is an intriguing aspect of the relationship
between perception and memory.
Concerning the disfluency theory, disfluency is referred to as a form of metacognition, in
which learners assign their cognitive resources based on a subjective sense of the difficulty of
a cognitive task (Alter et al 2007). The concept gained attention following a study conducted
by Oppenheimer and Yauman et al (2010), called “Fortune Favor the Bold (and the
Italicized): Effects of Disfluency on Education Outcomes” which explores the influence of
perceptual disfluency on memory retention and the potential implications it has on education
settings. Perceptual disfluency can take on various forms, such as unfamiliar fonts, which we
will be focusing on, colours, or even presentation styles. The study conducted by
Oppenheimer and Yauman et al focused on the effect of presenting information in various
fonts, which were less legible and more visually challenging compared to the standard font.
Their study aimed to investigate whether the increased cognitive effort that was required to
process the difficult font would have an effect on memory retention and how it would mirror
situations such as exams.
Oppenheimer and Yauman et al conducted their study by giving participants stories about
various kinds of aliens, these stories would include basic descriptive features such as physical
appearance. Using an independent measure design, participants were given either a fluent or
disfluent font (Bodoni MT at 75% greyscale 12 font size and Arial 100% black and 16 font
3
