Effects of frequency of exposure of changing and unchanging stimulus pairs on affective ratings

Hypothesized that exposure of a stimulus coupled with consistent and redundant contiguous associates enhances favorability, whereas exposure coupled with inconsistent and changing contiguous associates lowers favorability. In exp. I, ambiguous names were presented 2, 4, and 16 times to 36 undergraduates with either 2 identical or 2 incompatible associates that were changed for each presentation. Names paired with consistent and redundant associates received more favorable ratings (p < .01). Exp. Ii with 48 ss suggested that these results are not explainable in terms of a "transfer of liking" from repeatedly presented associates. In exp. Iii, ideographs were presented 2, 4, and 16 times to 84 ss with (a) the same associate, (b) no associate, (c) 1 of 2 associates, or (d) a different associate for each presentation. In support of the response competition hypothesis, ideographs in conditions a-d received successively lower ratings (p < .025). The overall frequency effect (p < .01) suggested, pairing a stimulus with inconsistent and changing contiguous associates, impairs, not reverses, the exposure-favorability relationship. (26 ref.)