Robert Balas | Polish Academy of Sciences (original) (raw)
Papers by Robert Balas
Psychological Research, 2013
Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fl... more Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fluency results in a positive affective response leading to successful assessment of semantic coherence. The present paper investigates whether processing fluency may indicate semantic incoherence as well. In two studies, we employ a new paradigm in which participants have to detect an incoherent item among semantically coherent words. In Study 1, we show participants accurately indicating an incoherent item despite not being able to provide an accurate solution to coherent words. Further, this effect is modified by affective valence of solution words that are not retrieved from memory. Study 2 replicates those results and extend them by showing that mood moderates incoherence judgments independently of affective valence of solutions. The results support processing fluency account of intuitive semantic coherence judgments and show that it is not fluency per se but fluency variations that drive judgments.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2020
The original online version of this article was revised due to the omission of “Objective of Stud... more The original online version of this article was revised due to the omission of “Objective of Study” at the end of Introduction section.
The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC)... more The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm. EC is a change in evaluative responses towards initially neutral stimulus (CS) due to its repeated pairing with affectively valenced stimulus (US). A positive scent of instant chocolate (US+) was used together with pictures of homeless people (US-) to change affective responses towards neutral names (CS). We show that a classic EC effect, i.e. more negative CS evaluations after its pairing with negative images of the homeless, can be eliminated when a competitive US, i.e. a positive chocolate scent, is present in the environment. Additionally, the study demonstrates chocolate scent selectively increased attitude towards homeless as measured by perceived distance to self and a self-report questionnaire. Moreover, this effect was not mediated by mood changes. We argue that scents can be used to change attitudes towards stigmatized groups. * Institute of Psychology, Polish Academ...
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and ch... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and changing attitudes. The surveillance-task (Olson & Fazio, 2001) is a highly cited EC paradigm, and one that is claimed to generate attitudes without awareness. The potential for EC effects to occur without awareness continues to fuel conceptual, theoretical, and applied developments. Yet few published studies have used this task, and most are characterized by small samples and small effect sizes. We conducted a high-powered (N =1478), preregistered close replication of the original surveillance-task study. We obtained evidence for a small EC effect when ‘aware’ participants were excluded using the original criterion – therefore replicating the original effect. However, no such effect emerged when three other awareness criteria were used. We suggest that there is a need for caution when using evidence for the surveillance task effect to make theoretical and practical claims about ‘unaware’ EC effects.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Earlier reports showed the co-occurrence of a motivation deficit in children with ADHD. The purpo... more Earlier reports showed the co-occurrence of a motivation deficit in children with ADHD. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of extrinsic motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with ADHD, as well as to measure cortical activity and dimensions of motivation as per the self-determination theory. The study included 30 children with ADHD and 30 typically developing (TD) children aged 9–13 years. Children with ADHD exhibited a higher theta/beta power ratio (TBR) in the midline and a lower regional cerebral blood oxygenation (rCBO2) level in prefrontal areas measured using the HEG ratio compared to TD children. Children with ADHD were more likely to undertake activity under the pressure of external stimuli and exhibited attention deficits regarding vigilance, visual search and divided attention. Differences between groups regarding attention decreased in conditions of increased motivation, indicating that motivation can reduce cognitive deficits in children ...
Social Psychological Bulletin
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Li... more This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Social Cognition
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its pairing with a valenced unconditioned stimulus (US). Because EC involves the acquisition of evaluative responses, previous EC research has paid relatively little attention to the processes involved in the expression of evaluative responses. Drawing on research on response processes underlying evaluative judgments, we argue that EC effects on evaluative judgments can be mediated by the use of (1) recollective memory for events involving the CS or (2) one's spontaneous affective reaction toward the CS. Because the two proximal outcomes of CS-US pairings can have independent effects on evaluative judgments as a distal outcome, influences on expression-related processes can lead to inaccurate conclusions when they are attributed to acquisition-related processes. Our analysis suggests that a deeper understanding of EC requires a broader theoretical approach that includes both acquisition-related and expression-related processes.
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and ch... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and changing attitudes. The surveillance-task (Olson & Fazio, 2001) is a highly cited EC paradigm, and one that is claimed to generate attitudes without awareness. The potential for EC effects to occur without awareness continues to fuel conceptual, theoretical, and applied developments. Yet few published studies have used this task, and most are characterized by small samples and small effect sizes. We conducted a high-powered (N =1478), preregistered close replication of the original surveillance-task study. We obtained evidence for a small EC effect when ‘aware’ participants were excluded using the original criterion – therefore replicating the original effect. However, no such effect emerged when three other awareness criteria were used. We suggest that there is a need for caution when using evidence for the surveillance task effect to make theoretical and practical claims about ‘unaware’ ...
Learning and Motivation, 2012
in press Polish Psychological Bulletin
The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC)... more The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm. EC is a change in evaluative responses towards initially neutral stimulus (CS) due to its repeated pairing with affectively valenced stimulus (US). A positive scent of instant chocolate (US+) was used together with pictures of homeless people (US-) to change affective responses towards neutral names (CS). We show that a classic EC effect, i.e. more negative CS evaluations after its pairing with negative images of the homeless, can be eliminated when a competitive US, i.e. a positive chocolate scent, is present in the environment. Additionally, the study demonstrates chocolate scent selectively increased attitude towards homeless as measured by perceived distance to self and a self-report questionnaire. Moreover, this effect was not mediated by mood changes. We argue that scents can be used to change attitudes towards stigmatized groups.
in press Psychological Research
Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fl... more Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fluency results in a positive affective response leading to successful assessment of semantic coherence. The present paper investigates whether processing fluency may indicate semantic incoherence as well. In two studies, we employ a new paradigm in which participants have to detect an incoherent item among semantically coherent words. In Study 1, we show participants accurately indicating an incoherent item despite not being able to provide an accurate solution to coherent words. Further, this effect is modified by affective valence of solution words that are not retrieved from memory. Study 2 replicates those results and extend them by showing that mood moderates incoherence judgments independently of affective valence of solutions. The results support processing fluency account of intuitive semantic coherence judgments and show that it is not fluency per se but fluency variations that drive judgments.
Cognition & …, Jan 1, 2012
Psychological Research, Jan 1, 2011
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is considered to play an important role in the attitude formation. O... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is considered to play an important role in the attitude formation. One of the ongoing debates in this field concerns the impact of contingency awareness (i.e., awareness of the contingent relationship between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, CS-US) on the EC occurrence. Despite the claims that EC does not require awareness of CS-US contingencies, the recent studies have claimed just the opposite. However, a number of methodological issues can be raised to undermine those claims. In two experiments, we tried to eliminate potential faults and sought to learn whether EC occurs with or without contingency awareness of either US identity or US valence. We report significant EC effects both with and without contingency awareness. These results provide support for the claim that the EC effects might be produced by independent mechanisms linked to awareness. We also argue that those mechanisms are differently captured by available measures of EC.
Psychological Research, 2013
Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fl... more Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fluency results in a positive affective response leading to successful assessment of semantic coherence. The present paper investigates whether processing fluency may indicate semantic incoherence as well. In two studies, we employ a new paradigm in which participants have to detect an incoherent item among semantically coherent words. In Study 1, we show participants accurately indicating an incoherent item despite not being able to provide an accurate solution to coherent words. Further, this effect is modified by affective valence of solution words that are not retrieved from memory. Study 2 replicates those results and extend them by showing that mood moderates incoherence judgments independently of affective valence of solutions. The results support processing fluency account of intuitive semantic coherence judgments and show that it is not fluency per se but fluency variations that drive judgments.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2020
The original online version of this article was revised due to the omission of “Objective of Stud... more The original online version of this article was revised due to the omission of “Objective of Study” at the end of Introduction section.
The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC)... more The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm. EC is a change in evaluative responses towards initially neutral stimulus (CS) due to its repeated pairing with affectively valenced stimulus (US). A positive scent of instant chocolate (US+) was used together with pictures of homeless people (US-) to change affective responses towards neutral names (CS). We show that a classic EC effect, i.e. more negative CS evaluations after its pairing with negative images of the homeless, can be eliminated when a competitive US, i.e. a positive chocolate scent, is present in the environment. Additionally, the study demonstrates chocolate scent selectively increased attitude towards homeless as measured by perceived distance to self and a self-report questionnaire. Moreover, this effect was not mediated by mood changes. We argue that scents can be used to change attitudes towards stigmatized groups. * Institute of Psychology, Polish Academ...
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and ch... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and changing attitudes. The surveillance-task (Olson & Fazio, 2001) is a highly cited EC paradigm, and one that is claimed to generate attitudes without awareness. The potential for EC effects to occur without awareness continues to fuel conceptual, theoretical, and applied developments. Yet few published studies have used this task, and most are characterized by small samples and small effect sizes. We conducted a high-powered (N =1478), preregistered close replication of the original surveillance-task study. We obtained evidence for a small EC effect when ‘aware’ participants were excluded using the original criterion – therefore replicating the original effect. However, no such effect emerged when three other awareness criteria were used. We suggest that there is a need for caution when using evidence for the surveillance task effect to make theoretical and practical claims about ‘unaware’ EC effects.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Earlier reports showed the co-occurrence of a motivation deficit in children with ADHD. The purpo... more Earlier reports showed the co-occurrence of a motivation deficit in children with ADHD. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of extrinsic motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with ADHD, as well as to measure cortical activity and dimensions of motivation as per the self-determination theory. The study included 30 children with ADHD and 30 typically developing (TD) children aged 9–13 years. Children with ADHD exhibited a higher theta/beta power ratio (TBR) in the midline and a lower regional cerebral blood oxygenation (rCBO2) level in prefrontal areas measured using the HEG ratio compared to TD children. Children with ADHD were more likely to undertake activity under the pressure of external stimuli and exhibited attention deficits regarding vigilance, visual search and divided attention. Differences between groups regarding attention decreased in conditions of increased motivation, indicating that motivation can reduce cognitive deficits in children ...
Social Psychological Bulletin
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Li... more This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Social Cognition
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its pairing with a valenced unconditioned stimulus (US). Because EC involves the acquisition of evaluative responses, previous EC research has paid relatively little attention to the processes involved in the expression of evaluative responses. Drawing on research on response processes underlying evaluative judgments, we argue that EC effects on evaluative judgments can be mediated by the use of (1) recollective memory for events involving the CS or (2) one's spontaneous affective reaction toward the CS. Because the two proximal outcomes of CS-US pairings can have independent effects on evaluative judgments as a distal outcome, influences on expression-related processes can lead to inaccurate conclusions when they are attributed to acquisition-related processes. Our analysis suggests that a deeper understanding of EC requires a broader theoretical approach that includes both acquisition-related and expression-related processes.
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and ch... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is one of the most widely-studied procedures for establishing and changing attitudes. The surveillance-task (Olson & Fazio, 2001) is a highly cited EC paradigm, and one that is claimed to generate attitudes without awareness. The potential for EC effects to occur without awareness continues to fuel conceptual, theoretical, and applied developments. Yet few published studies have used this task, and most are characterized by small samples and small effect sizes. We conducted a high-powered (N =1478), preregistered close replication of the original surveillance-task study. We obtained evidence for a small EC effect when ‘aware’ participants were excluded using the original criterion – therefore replicating the original effect. However, no such effect emerged when three other awareness criteria were used. We suggest that there is a need for caution when using evidence for the surveillance task effect to make theoretical and practical claims about ‘unaware’ ...
Learning and Motivation, 2012
in press Polish Psychological Bulletin
The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC)... more The presented study investigates attitude change using a cross-modal evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm. EC is a change in evaluative responses towards initially neutral stimulus (CS) due to its repeated pairing with affectively valenced stimulus (US). A positive scent of instant chocolate (US+) was used together with pictures of homeless people (US-) to change affective responses towards neutral names (CS). We show that a classic EC effect, i.e. more negative CS evaluations after its pairing with negative images of the homeless, can be eliminated when a competitive US, i.e. a positive chocolate scent, is present in the environment. Additionally, the study demonstrates chocolate scent selectively increased attitude towards homeless as measured by perceived distance to self and a self-report questionnaire. Moreover, this effect was not mediated by mood changes. We argue that scents can be used to change attitudes towards stigmatized groups.
in press Psychological Research
Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fl... more Recently proposed accounts of intuitive judgments of semantic coherence assume that processing fluency results in a positive affective response leading to successful assessment of semantic coherence. The present paper investigates whether processing fluency may indicate semantic incoherence as well. In two studies, we employ a new paradigm in which participants have to detect an incoherent item among semantically coherent words. In Study 1, we show participants accurately indicating an incoherent item despite not being able to provide an accurate solution to coherent words. Further, this effect is modified by affective valence of solution words that are not retrieved from memory. Study 2 replicates those results and extend them by showing that mood moderates incoherence judgments independently of affective valence of solutions. The results support processing fluency account of intuitive semantic coherence judgments and show that it is not fluency per se but fluency variations that drive judgments.
Cognition & …, Jan 1, 2012
Psychological Research, Jan 1, 2011
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is considered to play an important role in the attitude formation. O... more Evaluative conditioning (EC) is considered to play an important role in the attitude formation. One of the ongoing debates in this field concerns the impact of contingency awareness (i.e., awareness of the contingent relationship between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, CS-US) on the EC occurrence. Despite the claims that EC does not require awareness of CS-US contingencies, the recent studies have claimed just the opposite. However, a number of methodological issues can be raised to undermine those claims. In two experiments, we tried to eliminate potential faults and sought to learn whether EC occurs with or without contingency awareness of either US identity or US valence. We report significant EC effects both with and without contingency awareness. These results provide support for the claim that the EC effects might be produced by independent mechanisms linked to awareness. We also argue that those mechanisms are differently captured by available measures of EC.