The mere exposure effect is modulated by selective attention but not visual awareness

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Repeated exposure to stimuli enhances positive evaluation (mere exposure effect).
• This effect can occur with subliminal presentations, but the role of conscious perception remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate if conscious perception duration of faces affects their evaluation.
• Examine the interaction of selective attention and memory with this effect.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a binocular rivalry paradigm to manipulate conscious perceptual duration of faces.
• Assessed subsequent face evaluation and memory recall.

Main Results:

• Face evaluation was positively biased by selective attention.
• Visual awareness duration did not significantly affect face evaluation.
• The observed effect was independent of participants recalling which face was attended.

Conclusions:

• Selective attention, rather than conscious awareness, drives evaluative biases for faces.
• Memory recall does not mediate the influence of attention on face evaluation.
• Findings clarify the distinct roles of attention and awareness in evaluative conditioning.