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The Psychology of Listicles

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See a catchy headline? BrainCraft’s Vanessa Hill helps us to find out the science behind why listicles are so popular.

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References
Bohn, R., & Short, J. (2012). Measuring consumer information. Int J Comm,6, 980-1000.

Oppenheimer, D. M. (2008). The secret life of fluency. Trends in cognitive sciences, 12(6), 237-241.

Reber, R., & Schwarz, N. (1999). Effects of perceptual fluency on judgments of truth. Consciousness and cognition, 8(3), 338-342.

Winkielman, P., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2001). Mind at ease puts a smile on the face: psychophysiological evidence that processing facilitation elicits positive affect. Journal of personality and social psychology, 81(6), 989.

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Listicles are great for our brains to process. Though there are arguments on how much people actually process, listicles certainly make it quick to digest information.  
Avatar for Cynthia Silva
Lesson Creator
Princeton, New Jersey, United States

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