Subjective, physiological, and behavioural responses towards evaluatively conditioned stimuli.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Evaluative Conditioning (EC) is defined as changes in liking for a stimulus (CS) after pairing with an affective stimulus (US).
• Understanding the mechanisms and boundaries of EC is crucial for various psychological applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of repeated stimulus pairings on affective responses, including valence, arousal, pupil size, and duration estimation.
• To examine the influence of instructional information about CS-US contingency on affective responses.
• To introduce pupil size as a physiological measure in EC research.

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1 involved repeated pairings of conditioned stimuli (CSs) with affective unconditioned stimuli (USs).
• Affective responses were measured via valence and arousal ratings, pupil size, and duration estimation.
• Experiment 2 used mere instructions about CS-US contingency without actual pairings.

Main Results:

• Repeated pairings led to significant changes in affective responses: CSs paired with negative USs were rated more negatively and arousing.
• Pupil size increased and temporal overestimation occurred for CSs paired with negative USs.
• Instruction alone changed subjective ratings but did not yield differential pupillary or temporal processing effects.

Conclusions:

• EC through pairings or instructions can alter affective responses to previously neutral stimuli.
• Pupil size is a viable physiological measure for EC research.
• The type of EC procedure (pairings vs. instructions) may moderate its effects on affective and physiological responses.