No memory, no effect: action based evaluative conditioning effects are modulated by contingency memory.

Abstract

Evaluative conditioning refers to the change in the liking of a stimulus due to its pairing with another affective stimulus. Action control research indicates that not only affective stimuli, but also affective actions can lead to conditioning effects. While a large number of studies have examined the influence of contingency memory on evaluative conditioning for stimulus-stimulus contingencies, its effect on stimulus-response contingencies has not yet been examined. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to test whether contingency memory modulates action based evaluative conditioning effects. In two experiments (Exp. 1, lab and Exp. 2, online) participants underwent a conditioning procedure and then a memory test. In Experiment 2, an additional task was included in order to test whether enhanced processing of the stimuli modulated the evaluative conditioning effects. The results indicate that the action based evaluative conditioning effect is modulated by contingency memory, such that, an evaluative conditioning effect is only observed when the stimulus-response contingencies could be recalled. These results were replicated across both studies. Additional processing of the CS did not have any effect on the results in the present study.