UIUC Quant Brownbag

Factual statements are more likely to be judged as true when they are presented repeatedly. This repetition-based truth effect has been replicated many times, yet formal statistical models explaining the effect are still scarce. In order to address this, I outline different cognitive and psychometric modeling approaches for truth judgments. I highlight the benefits of precise mathematical equations instead of simulation-based models for testing theories about the moderating role of the plausibility of statements. The importance of model identifiability, auxiliary assumptions, and validation studies is illustrated in the context of competing multinomial processing tree models of the truth effect.