The effect of font readability on the Moses illusion: A replication study

Abstract

This research is a replication study that sought to verify whether the readability of a font has an effect on the Moses illusion detection. It was designed to stimulate information retrieval from memory and confuse retrieval with a text’s erroneous wording. Undergraduates aged 19–30 (N = 87, 80% women) were presented with two questions, one of which contained distorted information. We assumed that a difficult-to-read font would facilitate error detection, as it increases the focus of attention on the text. However, unlike the original study, we were unable to find support for this hypothesis, as font readability did not significantly affect error detection. In the difficult-to-read condition, 43% of participants reported an error, while, in the easy-to-read condition, errors were detected by 37% of the participants. Unlike the original study, our research results do not support the hypothesis that the visual presentation of a text affects the automatic retrieval of information from memory. This study clarifies the effect of text readability on error detection taking into consideration the role of long-term memory and visual perception.