Evaluative context and conditioning effects among same and different objects.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Evaluative conditioning (EC) literature primarily reports assimilation effects, where a neutral stimulus gains valence from a paired stimulus.
• A broader literature suggests context stimuli often lead to contrast effects, where target evaluations shift away from context valence.
• A discrepancy exists regarding the direction of context effects in evaluative learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To resolve the discrepancy between assimilation in EC and contrast in general context effects.
• To investigate the role of stimulus similarity between target and context stimuli in determining evaluative outcomes.
• To identify the key factor influencing whether assimilation or contrast dominates in evaluative conditioning.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 10 experiments manipulating the relationship between target (conditioned stimulus, CS) and context (unconditioned stimulus, US) stimuli.
• Varied whether CS and US depicted objects from the same or different classes.
• Measured the resulting evaluations of the target stimuli.

Main Results:

• When target and context stimuli depicted different objects, assimilation effects dominated, consistent with standard EC.
• When target and context stimuli belonged to the same object class, contrast effects became prominent.
• Contrast effects were masked in traditional EC tasks due to the use of diverse USs.

Conclusions:

• The similarity between target and context stimuli is a critical determinant of evaluative outcomes.
• Same-object contexts promote contrast effects, while different-object contexts promote assimilation.
• Findings clarify the conditions under which assimilation versus contrast operates in evaluative learning and context effects.