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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
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Published on: February 4, 2016
I like it because I said that I like it: evaluative conditioning effects can be based on stimulus-response learning
1Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium. Anne.Gast@UGent.be
Summary
Evaluative conditioning effects can arise from direct links between stimuli and responses, not just stimulus-stimulus learning. This response-based learning explains how stimulus valence changes.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Evaluative conditioning (EC) traditionally assumes a learned link between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US).
- Alternative learning mechanisms for EC effects require investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a direct link between CS and evaluative response (ER) can cause EC effects.
- To differentiate between CS-US learning and CS-ER learning in EC.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Paired CSs with USs, participants evaluated pairs, followed by US revaluation.
- Experiment 2: Replicated Experiment 1 without explicit evaluation during conditioning.
- Experiment 3: Used CSs paired only with enforced evaluative responses.
Main Results:
- EC effects in Experiment 1 were unaffected by US revaluation, indicating CS-ER learning.
- EC effects in Experiment 2 were influenced by US revaluation, supporting CS-US learning.
- Experiment 3 demonstrated EC effects solely from CS-ER contingency.
Conclusions:
- EC effects can be mediated by a learned association between a stimulus and an evaluative response.
- This CS-ER learning pathway offers an alternative explanation for changes in stimulus valence.
- The findings challenge the exclusive reliance on CS-US associations in EC theory.
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