Priming the Mind: How Solution Cues Influence Accuracy and Confidence in Semantic Coherence Evaluations

Abstract

Semantic coherence judgments address whether a set of words share a common associative link and reflect an intuitive understanding of semantic relationships. This paper investigates how semantic priming impacts these judgments, specifically examining its effects on the accuracy of identifying semantic coherence and confidence in these judgments. In Study 1, the influence of semantic priming on participants’ ability to judge semantic coherence and their confidence levels was investigated. Findings indicated that solution priming significantly enhanced the accuracy of coherence judgments and participants’ confidence, highlighting the role of processing fluency and metacognitive evaluations. Study 2 built on these results by introducing a more demanding task, the Dyads of Triads (DoT), in which participants had to indicate a semantically coherent triad. The results confirmed that semantic priming maintained its positive effect on the accuracy of intuitive judgments and confidence, further emphasizing the importance of processing fluency and metacognitive awareness in intuitive semantic processing under more complex conditions. Together, these studies demonstrate that semantic priming facilitates a deeper intuitive grasp of semantic coherence, thereby showing the critical roles of processing fluency and metacognitive processes in intuitive semantic coherence judgments.