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

评价启动效应（EPE）是指在正启动刺激或负启动刺激之前，对目标刺激（通常是中性的）的评价发生变化。与中性启动的目标相比，同化性EPE描述了一种模式，即在积极启动后产生更多的积极判断，在消极启动后产生更多的消极判断。偶尔，也观察到一种对比的EPE，在消极启动后涉及更多的积极判断，反之亦然。同化性EPE，或EPE的同化子过程，已经被解释为启动情绪对目标的错误归因（Payne, Cheng, Govorun & Stewart, 2005）或反应启动（Rotteveel & Phaf, 2004），即启动诱发的自动反应激活。有意识的反控制（Strack, Schwarz, Bless, k<s:1> bler, & Wänke, 1993）可以解释一个对比性EPE，或对比性子过程：看穿启动过程的参与者可能会在启动之前纠正他们对目标的自发判断，而不是启动的价。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启动相比，在短时间内呈现和/或嵌入在面具中的次优启动具有更强的同化启动。然而，单独的行为研究并不能明确地阐明启动加工深度和EPE强度之间的反向关系究竟是如何介导的。此外，以往使用事件相关电位（ERP）的研究仅发现个体EPE的大小与启动加工深度的ERP指数之间存在事后关系。因此，本项目包括四项关于EPE的聚合ERP研究，涉及一组具有代表性的特定实验操作，以同时分析对EPE的影响，对启动ERP的影响，对目标ERP的情感错误归因标记的影响，对启动侧化准备电位（LRP）的反应激活标记的影响，以及对目标LRP的有意识反控制标记的影响。基于这些发现，我们将能够为新的EPE综合理论提供新的证据，从而更好地预测特定情感和信息处理环境下EPE的大小和极性。这将增加我们对情感性情境对评估性判断的影响的认识，施瓦茨（2007）强调了这一任务的重要性。启动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，工作记忆以特定于启动项的方式加载，启动项在主要任务中作为干扰物呈现，并应用关于如何处理启动项的具体说明（忽略，与注意和纠正）。

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.