Understanding the basic processes in affective learning

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Affective attitudes reflect fast evaluative judgments of encountered objects. An experimental approach to study the formation of affective attitudes is evaluative conditioning (EC; for reviews see Hofmann et al., 2010; Walther et al., 2011). In a prototypical EC experiment, a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus; CS) is repeatedly paired with a (dis-)liked stimulus (unconditioned stimulus, US). The common result is a substantial shift in the valence of the formerly neutral CS such that it becomes evaluatively similar to the US. Despite intensive research the mechanisms underlying EC are not well understood so far. Although it is generally agreed upon that EC is based on a ‘mental link’ between stimuli (i.e., the CS and the US), relatively less attention was paid to the processes required to establish the integration of US and CS. The current project is concerned with this particular issue. Integrating cognitive binding theory, selective attention research and learning theory, we bridge the gap between hitherto unrelated research traditions and pursue a new perspective in an attempt to gain insight into the processes underlying evaluative learning. In fact, we suggest that selective attention to the US or CS modulates the integration of these stimuli. In addition, based on theories of feature binding, we analyze which processes lead to and enhance S-R associations rather than S-S associations. Important, based on previous findings (Gawronski, Walther, & Blank, 2005) we hypothesize that depending on contextual and interpersonal factors USs of the same valence can elicit quite different evaluative responses. Finally, we analyze whether selective (spatial) attention furthers the integration of CS and US features. On a larger scale, we hope to improve our understanding of the processes contributing to the formation of affective attitudes on the one hand and the role of selective attention in feature binding on the other hand.