At the crossroads: Attention, contingency awareness, and evaluative conditioning

Blask, Katarina; Walther, Eva; Halbeisen, Georg; Weil, Rebecca

Abstract

Evaluative conditioning (EC) refers to changes in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus (US). One of the most debated topics in EC research is whether or not EC is dependent on contingency awareness. In this study, we go beyond this debate by examining whether contingency awareness mediates the impact of attentional resources and goal-directed attention on EC. Attentional resources were manipulated by presenting CSs and USs either within the same modality or in different modalities. Goal-directed attention was manipulated by asking participants to respond to the CSs or to the USs. Results indicate that the effect of goal-directed attention on EC is mediated by contingency awareness, whereas the effect of attentional resources on EC is not.

Citation

Blask, K., Walther, E., Halbeisen, G., & Weil, R. (2012). At the crossroads: Attention, contingency awareness, and evaluative conditioning. Learning and Motivation, 43(3), 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2012.03.004

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 17, 2012
• Publication Date: 2012-08
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2020
• Journal: Learning and Motivation
• Print ISSN: 0023-9690
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 99-106
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2012.03.004
• Keywords: Evaluative conditioning; Contingency awareness; Attentional resources; Goal-directed attention; Mediation
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3378483
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023969012000264?via%3Dihub