Citation

Gawronski B, Balas R, Hu X. Soc. Cogn. 2016; 34(5): 357-381.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Guilford Press)

DOI

10.1521/soco.2016.34.5.357

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its pairing with a valenced unconditioned stimulus (US). Because EC involves the acquisition of evaluative responses, previous EC research has paid relatively little attention to the processes involved in the expression of evaluative responses. Drawing on research on response processes underlying evaluative judgments, we argue that EC effects on evaluative judgments can be mediated by the use of (1) recollective memory for events involving the CS or (2) one's spontaneous affective reaction toward the CS. Because the two proximal outcomes of CS-US pairings can have independent effects on evaluative judgments as a distal outcome, influences on expression-related processes can lead to inaccurate conclusions when they are attributed to acquisition-related processes. Our analysis suggests that a deeper understanding of EC requires a broader theoretical approach that includes both acquisition-related and expression-related processes.

Language: en