The moderating role of attribute accessibility in conditioning multiple specific attributes

Abstract

Attribute conditioning (AC) refers to people's changed assessment of stimuli's (conditioned stimuli, CSs) attributes due to pairings with stimuli possessing these attributes (unconditioned stimuli, USs). Up to now, research only showed conditioning of only one attribute within a conditioning session (e.g., athleticism) and measured assessment changes in only this single attribute. The current study shows attribute‐specific AC effects in multi‐attribute environments and shows that attribute accessibility determines which of a US's multiple attributes are conditioned. Experiment 1 shows AC effects for artificial logos with attributes varying across USs (e.g., athletic, intelligent, or funny). Experiment 2 shows that these AC effects persist over time. Experiment 3 directly manipulated accessibility for attributes varying between and within USs (e.g., a US being sexy and familial) with a priming procedure. Priming‐specific attributes prior to conditioning determined which attribute of a US was conditioned to paired CSs. We discuss theoretical implications for AC, as well as practical implications for brand image formation and advertising. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Attribute conditioning: Changing attribute-assessments through mere pairings

“…Further, Förderer and Unkelbach (2014) found AC effects and US-revaluation effects (Förderer, submitted) that were independent of reported demand awareness and compliance. Interestingly, Förderer (submitted) found the expected AC and US-revaluation effects only for participants that were not demand aware or compliant.…”

“…Therefore, Experiments 2 and 3 paired CSs with only one US each to maximize the CS1s' predictive value. Experiments 4 and 5 followed the same methodology, as pairing a CS with a unique US usually leads to stronger AC effects (Förderer & Unkelbach, 2014). Maximizing AC effects ensures that smaller AC effects after extinction procedures can be attributed to CSs repeatedly occurring alone (i.e., extinction), but not to decay which might be stronger for CSs paired with multiple USs.…”

“…Olson et al (2009) tried to condition size and speed, yet they found AC effects for size only when the attribute was primed prior to conditioning (Experiment 2) and no effects for speed at all. A study by Förderer and Unkelbach (2014) showed that priming attributes was not necessary for conditioning specific attributes. Yet, making an attribute of a US more accessible using a priming procedure moderated which of multiple US attributes were conditioned to the CS.…”

Why Does George Clooney Make Coffee Sexy? The Case for Attribute Conditioning

“…The AC paradigm is straightforward: One repeatedly pairs stimuli that possess a clear attribute or trait (e.g., athletic, funny, humorous, attractive, educated; Förderer & Unkelbach, 2014) with initially neutral stimuli. In conditioning terms, the former are unconditioned stimuli (USs), and the latter are conditioned stimuli (CSs).…”

“…However, we propose that the mere pairing of George Clooney with a brand suffices to make that brand sexy. That is, after people observe multiple pairings of Clooney with a brand, their sexiness ratings of this brand increase (Förderer & Unkelbach, 2014). We call this effect attribute conditioning (AC; Förderer & Unkelbach, 2015).…”