ABSTRACT Research suggests that repeated, unreinforced exposure to a stimulus (e.g.,image, object, person) results in increased liking for that stimulus. This phenomenon has been termed the "mere exposure effect". Recent experiments in the PI's laboratory indicate that awareness of stimulus content inhibits the mere exposure effect, so that subliminal stimuli produce significantly stronger mere exposure effects than do stimuli that are clearly recognized. No extant model of the exposure effect can accommodate this pattern of results. Thus these experiments are designed to test a new theoretical model of the mere exposure effect. This model contends that exposure effects result from "perceptual fluency" (i.e., an increase in the ease with which a stimulus is perceived and processed) that is induced by repeated stimulus exposures. When stimulus exposures are subliminal, subjects attribute perceptual fluency effects to properties of the merely-exposed stimulus based on cues provided by the experimenter. In contrast, when clearly- recognized stimuli are used, subjects can attribute fluency effects to the stimulus familiarization procedure, diminishing liking ratings of the merely- exposed stimuli. Five sets of experiments will test the attributional model. The first experiment compares the magnitude of the mere exposure effect for attended vs unattended stimuli, replicating and extending previous work in this area. In the second set of experiments, the PIs examine directly the processes that underly perceptual fluency effects for merely-exposed stimuli. The third set of experiments is designed to assess the relationship between stimulus awareness and perceptual fluency effects in the mere exposure paradigm. In the fourth set of experiments, the PI's examine various experimental manipulations that affect the attribution of liking to previous stimulus exposures in mere exposure effect studies. In the fifth set of experiments, other theoretical issues related to the attributional model will be investigated. The results of these experiments will have important applications in several areas. First, these results can inform us in important ways about the affective and cognitive processes involved in attitude formation and attitude change. In addition, these findings may help to enhance the efficiency of various persuasion techniques that are based on repeated exposure to a message, concept or argument. Finally, these results can be used to increase the efficacy of physiological treatment procedures wherein individuals' attitudes toward stimuli that are disliked or feared are enhanced via repeated, unreinforced exposure to the aversive stimulus (e.g., systematic desensitization).
