The research report by Rolf Reber, Piotr Winkielman, and Norbert Schwarz investigates the effects of perceptual fluency on affective judgments. The study builds on the two-step account of the mere-exposure effect, which suggests that repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a subjective feeling of perceptual fluency, which in turn influences liking. The authors conducted three experiments to examine how different manipulations of perceptual fluency affect affective judgments. In Experiment 1, participants rated the prettiness of neutral objects presented with either a matching or non-matching prime. Results showed that objects preceded by a matching prime were judged as prettier and recognized faster, indicating enhanced perceptual fluency. In Experiment 2, the figure-ground contrast was manipulated, and participants rated the prettiness of circles with different contrasts. Higher contrast stimuli were rated as prettier, and lower contrast stimuli were rated as less ugly, suggesting that perceptual fluency is affectively positive. In Experiment 3, the presentation duration of stimuli was manipulated, and participants rated their liking or disliking. Longer presentation times led to higher liking and lower disliking, further supporting the role of perceptual fluency in enhancing preference. The findings suggest that perceptual fluency increases liking and is affectively positive, leading to higher judgments of prettiness and liking, and lower judgments of ugliness and disliking. The study concludes that manipulations of perceptual fluency, independent of stimulus repetition, can enhance preference for neutral stimuli.The research report by Rolf Reber, Piotr Winkielman, and Norbert Schwarz investigates the effects of perceptual fluency on affective judgments. The study builds on the two-step account of the mere-exposure effect, which suggests that repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a subjective feeling of perceptual fluency, which in turn influences liking. The authors conducted three experiments to examine how different manipulations of perceptual fluency affect affective judgments. In Experiment 1, participants rated the prettiness of neutral objects presented with either a matching or non-matching prime. Results showed that objects preceded by a matching prime were judged as prettier and recognized faster, indicating enhanced perceptual fluency. In Experiment 2, the figure-ground contrast was manipulated, and participants rated the prettiness of circles with different contrasts. Higher contrast stimuli were rated as prettier, and lower contrast stimuli were rated as less ugly, suggesting that perceptual fluency is affectively positive. In Experiment 3, the presentation duration of stimuli was manipulated, and participants rated their liking or disliking. Longer presentation times led to higher liking and lower disliking, further supporting the role of perceptual fluency in enhancing preference. The findings suggest that perceptual fluency increases liking and is affectively positive, leading to higher judgments of prettiness and liking, and lower judgments of ugliness and disliking. The study concludes that manipulations of perceptual fluency, independent of stimulus repetition, can enhance preference for neutral stimuli.