ERP studies on the effects of depth of prime processing on evaluative priming of aesthetical preference judgments

评价性启动效应(EPE)指的是对(通常是中性的)目标刺激的评估的变化，在评估之前是积极的或消极的启动刺激。与中性启动的目标相比，同化的EPE描述了在积极的素数之后有更多的积极判断，在负素数之后有更多的负面判断的模式。偶尔，也会观察到对比的EPE，在负质数之后涉及更多的积极判断，反之亦然。同化EPE或EPE的同化子过程，已被解释为错误地将主要影响归因于目标(Payne，Cheng，Govorun&Stewart，2005)或反应启动(Rotteveel&PHAF，2004)，即最高诱导的自动反应激活。有意识的反控制(Strack，Schwarz，Bless，Kübler，&Wänke，1993)可以解释对比性EPE或对比子过程：看穿启动过程的参与者可能会在目标进入之前纠正他们对目标的自发判断，而不是质数的价态。所有这些机制都可以解释一个重要的发现，即与清晰可见的最佳质数相比，短时间呈现和/或嵌入在掩膜中的次佳质数具有更强的同化启动作用。然而，仅靠行为研究不能明确地阐明初级加工深度和EPE强度之间的反向关系是如何调节的。此外，以前使用事件相关电位(ERPs)的研究只发现个体EPE的大小与初级加工深度的ERP指数之间存在后继关系。因此，本计划包括四项关于EPE的聚合ERP研究，涉及一组具有代表性的对加工深度的具体实验操作，以同时分析对EPE、对初始ERP、对目标ERP中情感错误归因的标记物、对最大侧化准备潜能(LRP)中的反应激活标记物以及对目标LRP中有意识的反控制标记物的影响。基于所获得的发现，我们将能够提供新的证据，支持EPE的新的综合理论，从而允许在特定的情感和信息处理背景下更好地预测EPE的大小和极性。这将增加我们对情感语境对评价性判断影响的了解，这一任务的重要性已被Schwarz(2007)强调。对初始加工深度的预期实验操作代表了对情感线索加工的典型日常影响。为此，工作记忆以质数特定的方式加载，质数在主要任务中被呈现为分心对象，并应用关于如何处理质数的特定指令(忽略、关注和纠正)。

The evaluative priming effect (EPE) refers to changes in the evaluation of (typically neutral) target stimuli that are preceded by positive or negative prime stimuli. An assimilative EPE describes a pattern of more positive judgments after positive primes and more negative judgments after negative primes, compared to neutrally-primed targets. Occasionally, a contrastive EPE has been observed as well, involving more positive judgments after negative primes, and vice versa. The assimilative EPE, or assimilative sub-processes of the EPE, have been explained in terms of either misattribution of the prime affect to the target (Payne, Cheng, Govorun & Stewart, 2005), or response priming (Rotteveel & Phaf, 2004), that is, prime-induced automatic response activation. Conscious counter-control (Strack, Schwarz, Bless, Kübler, & Wänke, 1993) can explain a contrastive EPE, or contrastive sub-processes: Participants who see through the priming procedure might correct their spontaneous judgment of the target contrary to the valence of the prime before it is entered. All these mechanisms can explain an important finding, namely stronger assimilative priming from suboptimal primes that are presented at short durations and/or embedded in a mask, compared to clearly visible optimal primes. However, behavioral studies alone cannot unequivocally clarify how exactly the inverse relationship between depth of prime processing and strength of the EPE is mediated. Furthermore, previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) only found a post-hoc relationship between the size of the individual EPE and ERP indices of depth of prime processing. Therefore, the present program includes four converging ERP studies on the EPE that involve a representative set of specific experimental manipulations of the depth of prime processing to simultaneously analyze the effects on the EPE, on prime ERPs, on markers of affect misattribution in the target ERP, on markers of response activation in the prime lateralized readiness potential (LRP), and on markers of conscious counter-control in the target LRP. Based on the obtained findings, we will be able to provide new evidence in favor of a novel integrative theory of the EPE, thus allowing for better predictions of the size and polarity of the EPE in specific affective and information-processing contexts. This would increase our knowledge about affective context effects on evaluative judgment, a task whose importance has been emphasized by Schwarz (2007). The intended experimental manipulations of the depth of prime processing are representative of typical every-day influences on the processing of affective cues. To this end, working memory is loaded in a prime-specific manner, primes are presented as distractors in a primary task, and specific instructions regarding how to deal with the primes (ignore, vs. attend-and-correct) are applied.