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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
12:51
Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
Published on: October 6, 2011
Evaluative conditioning may occur with and without contingency awareness.
1Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 19/31 Chodakowska St, 03-815, Warsaw, Poland. rbalas@psychpan.waw.pl
Psychological Research
|May 3, 2011
Summary
Evaluative conditioning (EC) occurs with or without awareness of the relationship between stimuli. These findings suggest EC effects may stem from independent awareness-linked mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Evaluative conditioning (EC) is crucial for attitude formation.
- A key debate concerns whether contingency awareness (awareness of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus, CS-US, relationship) impacts EC.
- Recent studies conflict on the necessity of awareness for EC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if EC occurs with or without contingency awareness.
- To examine awareness of US identity and US valence in EC.
- To address methodological limitations in prior EC research.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted to rigorously test EC.
- Potential methodological flaws in previous studies were addressed.
- EC effects were assessed with and without contingency awareness.
Main Results:
- Significant EC effects were observed both with and without contingency awareness.
- Awareness of US identity or US valence did not preclude EC.
- Results indicate EC can occur independently of awareness.
Conclusions:
- EC effects can be produced by independent mechanisms linked to awareness.
- These awareness-linked mechanisms may be differentially measured.
- Findings support the role of both conscious and potentially unconscious processes in EC.
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