s difficult to pronounce, it must be risky
Song and Schwarz show that low processing fluency fosters the impression that a stimulus is unfamiliar, and that this impression in turn produces perceptions of higher risk, independent of whether the risk in question is desirable or undesirable. In the first two studies, ostensible food additives were rated as more harmful when their names were difficult to pronounce than when their names were easy to pronounce, and mediation analyses indicated that the effect ran through the perceived novelty of the substance. The third study separates risk from harm. Amusement-park rides were rated as more likely to make a rider sick, an undesirable risk, when their names were difficult to pronounce, but the same rides were also rated as more exciting and adventurous, which is a desirable risk. That pattern matters because it rules out simple dislike of awkward names. Difficulty of pronunciation reads as novelty, novelty reads as risk, and whether the risk is then judged good or bad depends on what the object is for.
Song and Schwarz show that low processing fluency fosters the impression that a stimulus is unfamiliar, and that this impression in turn produces perceptions of higher risk, independent of whether the risk in question is desirable or undesirable. In the first two studies, ostensible food additives were rated as more harmful when their names were difficult to pronounce than when their names were easy to pronounce, and mediation analyses indicated that the effect ran through the perceived novelty of the substance. The third study separates risk from harm. Amusement-park rides were rated as more likely to make a rider sick, an undesirable risk, when their names were difficult to pronounce, but the same rides were also rated as more exciting and adventurous, which is a desirable risk. That pattern matters because it rules out simple dislike of awkward names. Difficulty of pronunciation reads as novelty, novelty reads as risk, and whether the risk is then judged good or bad depends on what the object is for.
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Verified at Crossref 2026-10-01 for authors, year, journal, volume and pages. The abstract was not retrievable and the paper has not been read here; the finding is reported at the level the title states. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02267.x
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- The Brand You Can Pronounce, Why We Look
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Song, H., & Schwarz, N. (2009). 'If it's difficult to pronounce, it must be risky.' Psychological Science, 20(2), 135-138. Verified at Crossref 2026-10-01 for authors, year, journal, volume and pages. The abstract was not retrievable and the paper has not been read here; the finding is reported at the level the title states. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02267.x