Author:

Keywords:

Evaluative conditioning, Blocking, Stimulus competition, Social Sciences, Psychology, Multidisciplinary, Psychology, FLAVOR-FLAVOR, CONTINGENCY AWARENESS, OUTCOME ADDITIVITY, CUE COMPETITION, BODY SHAPES, NO EVIDENCE, ATTITUDES, HUMANS, PREFERENCES, ASSOCIATIONS, 1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, Experimental Psychology, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology, 5205 Social and personality psychology

Abstract:

Evaluative conditioning has been claimed to have a number of functional characteristics that set it apart from other forms of associative learning in humans, such as insensitivity to extinction and contingency, independence of contingency awareness, and insensitivity to modulation. Despite its potential theoretical importance, until now few data are available concerning the susceptibility of evaluative conditioning to cue competition effects such as blocking. In the present study, we assessed the susceptibility of acquired preferences and evaluations to blocking in a candy game. Results suggest that evaluative conditioning is not susceptible to blocking. We discuss this observation in the light of theoretical accounts of evaluative conditioning and associative learning in humans.