scholarly journals Evaluative conditioning of artificial grammars: Evidence that subjectively-unconscious structures bias affective evaluations of novel stimuli.

2020 ◽  
Vol 149 (9) ◽  
pp. 1800-1809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Răzvan Jurchiș ◽  
Andrei Costea ◽  
Zoltan Dienes ◽  
Mircea Miclea ◽  
Adrian Opre
Keyword(s):  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Artificial Grammars

scholarly journals Evaluative conditioning of artificial grammars: Evidence that subjectively-unconscious structures bias affective evaluations of novel stimuli

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Răzvan Jurchiș ◽  
Andrei Costea ◽  
Zoltan Dienes ◽  
Mircea Miclea ◽  
Adrian Opre
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Neutral Stimulus ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Subjective Awareness ◽  
Artificial Grammars

Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to the acquisition of emotional valence by an initially-neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus; CS), after being paired with an emotional stimulus (unconditioned stimulus; US). An important issue regards whether, when participants are unaware of the CS-US contingency, the affective valence can generalize to new stimuli that share similarities with the CS. Previous studies have shown that generalization of EC effects appears only when participants are aware of the contingencies, but we suggest that this is because (a) the contingencies typically used in these studies are salient and easy to detect consciously, and (b) the performance-based measures of awareness (so-called “objective measures”), typically used in these studies, tend to overestimate the amount of available conscious knowledge. We report a preregistered study in which participants (N = 217) were exposed to letter strings generated from two complex artificial grammars that are difficult to decipher consciously. Stimuli from one grammar were paired with positive USs, while those from the other grammar were paired with negative USs. Subsequently, participants evaluated new, previously-unseen, stimuli from the positively-conditioned grammar more positively than new stimuli from the negatively-conditioned grammar. Importantly, this effect appeared even when trial-by-trial subjective measures indicated lack of relevant conscious knowledge. We provide evidence for the generalization of EC effects even without subjective awareness of the structures that enable those generalizations.

“Paint It Black”

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oulmann Zerhouni ◽  
Johan Lepage
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Maladaptive Behaviors ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Contingency Awareness ◽  
Difficulties In Emotion Regulation

Abstract. The present study is a first attempt to link self-reported difficulties in everyday emotion regulation (ER) with evaluative conditioning (EC). We conducted a within-subject study in which participants (n = 90) filled the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and were exposed to neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) paired with mildly or highly arousing negative unconditioned stimuli (USs) and positive USs. Participants then filled a contingency awareness measure. Results showed (i) that CSs paired with highly arousing negative USs were more negatively evaluated, (ii) that the EC effect with highly and mildly arousing negative USs was stronger among participants with greater self-reported difficulties in everyday ER. Moreover, participants were more likely to be aware of the CS-US contingencies with highly (vs. mildly) arousing negative USs. Implications for the understanding of maladaptive behaviors and for future directions in EC research are discussed.

Secondary Transfer Effect of Contact

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Dissonance ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Transfer Effect ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Secondary Transfer ◽  
Primary Reduction

This paper reviews the evidence for a secondary transfer effect of intergroup contact. Following a contact’s typical primary reduction in prejudice toward the outgroup involved in the contact, this effect involves a further, secondary reduction in prejudice toward noninvolved outgroups. Employing longitudinal German probability samples, we found that significant secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact exist, but they were limited to specific outgroups that are similar to the contacted outgroup in perceived stereotypes, status or stigma. Since the contact-prejudice link is bidirectional, the effect is inflated when prior prejudice reducing contact is not controlled. The strongest evidence derives from experimental research. Both cognitive (dissonance) and affective (evaluative conditioning) explanations for the effect are offered.

On the Stability of Evaluative Conditioning Effects

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 380-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Förderer ◽  
Christian Unkelbach
Keyword(s):  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Indirect Measures ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Over Time

Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to valence changes in neutral stimuli (CSs) through repeated pairing with liked or disliked stimuli (USs). The present study examined the stability of EC effects in the course of 1 week. We investigated how this stability depends on memory for US valence and US identity. We also investigated whether CSs evaluations occurring immediately after conditioning (i.e., evaluative consolidation) are necessary for stable EC effects. Participants showed stable EC effects on direct and indirect measures, independent of evaluations immediately after conditioning. EC effects depended on memory for US valence but not for US identity. And although memory decreased significantly over time, EC effects remained stable. These data suggest that evaluative consolidation is not necessary, and that conditioned preferences and attitudes might persist even when people do not remember the concrete source anymore.

Eye Gaze as a Predictor of Evaluative Conditioning

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Jones ◽  
Russell H. Fazio ◽  
Michael Olson
Keyword(s):  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning
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