A Program of Classical Conditioning Experiments Testing Variations in the Conditioned Stimulus and Context

Twenty-one experiments regarding the strength of attitudinal conditioning for various brands of cola were performed. The conditioned stimulus, brand familiarity (various unknown, moderately known, and well-known cola brands), and the embedding context in which conditioning trials occurred (other known or unknown brands) were manipulated. Effects are strongest for unknown and moderately known brands and for colas conditioned in a context of known versus unknown brands. Evidence is also provided showing that attitudes are conditioned only when subjects are aware of the contingency between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. C lassical (Pavlovian) conditioning has interested consumer researchers for years, but only recently has serious theoretical, empirical, and critical attention been devoted to the role and functioning of conditioning in a consumer context (see, e.g., Allen and Janiszewski