A New Zealand-led study investigating how images affect our belief in written statements has been featured on the news satire show ‘the Colbert Report’.
The research, undertaken by Eryn Newman, a PhD student in Victoria’s School of Psychology, and colleagues, examined the phenomenon American comedian and news satirist Stephen Colbert calls ‘truthiness’-the feeling that something is true. Their research, published in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, found that individuals were more likely to agree with a statement that was accompanied by decorative image.
Stephen Colbert coined the word ‘truthiness’ in the pilot episode of his show in 2005, and in 2006 it was the Merriam-Webster word of the year.
Read a full press release from Victoria University Wellington here.
You can watch Stephen Colbert discussing the research below.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Who’s Honoring Me Now? – Psychonomic Bulletin & Review | ||||
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