This paper reviews extant research in classical conditioning effects in consumer behavior and advertising contexts to determine whether they are real or illusory. The empirical results reveal that in cases where classical conditioning effects were found, they could be countermined by the deficiencies in research methodologies, demand artifacts, the mediating role of contingency awareness, or some alternative mechanisms. In cases where the effects were not observed, the failure could be attributed to violations of the conditions for classical conditioning to occur or absence of contingency and demand awareness. It is concluded that thus far there has been no convincing evidence for classical conditioning effects on consumer behavior. Suggestions for future research in this area are presented.
AllenC.T.JaniszewskiC.A.Assessing the role of contingency awareness in attitudinal conditioning with implications for advertising researchJournal of Marketing Research26February198930–43
2.
AllenC.T.MaddenT.J.A closer look at classical conditioningJournal of Consumer Research12December1985301–315
3.
BaerP.E.FuhrerM.J.Cognitive factors in the concurrent differential conditioning of eyelid and skin conductance responsesMemory & Cognition10March1982135–140
4.
BaeyensF.CrombezG.Van den BerghO.EelenP.Once in contact always in contact: Evaluative conditioning is resistant to extinctionAdvances in Behavioral Research and Therapy101988179–199
5.
BaeyensF.De HouwerJ.Evaluative conditioning is a qualitatively distinct form of classical conditioningBehaviour Research and Therapy331995825–831
6.
BaeyensF.De HouwerJ.VansteenwegenD.EelenP.Evaluative conditioning is a form of associative learning: On the artifactual nature of Field and Davey's (1997) artifactual account of evaluative learningLearning and Motivation291998461–474
7.
BaeyensF.EelenP.Van den BerghO.Contingency awareness in evaluative conditioning: A case of unaware affective-evaluative learningCognition and Emotion419903–18
8.
BaeyensF.HermansD.EelenP.The role of CS–US contingency in human evaluative conditioningBehaviour Research and Therapy311993731–737
9.
BakerW.E.When can affective conditioning and mere exposure directly influence brand choice?Journal of Advertising28199931–46
10.
Barnes-HolmesD.KeaneJ.Barnes-HolmesY.SmeetsP.M.A derived transfer of emotive functions as a means of establishing differential preferences for soft drinksPsychological Record5032000493–511
11.
BierleyC.McSweeneyF.K.VannieuwkerkR.Classical conditioning of preferences for stimuliJournal of Consumer Research12December1985316–323
12.
BifernoM.A.DawsonM.E.The onset of contingency awareness and electrodermal classical conditioning: An analysis of temporal relationships during acquisition and extinctionPsychophysiology14March1977164–171
13.
BlairM.E.ShimpT.A.Consequences of an unpleasant experience with music: A second-order negative conditioning perspectiveJournal of Advertising211199235–43
14.
BrownP.L.JenkinsH.M.Auto-shaping of the pigeon's key-peckJournal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior11119681–8
15.
CacioppoJ.T.Marshall-GoodellB.S.TassinaryL.G.PettyR.E.Rudimentary determinants of attitudes: Classical conditioning is more effective when prior knowledge about the attitude stimulus is low than highJournal of Experimental Social Psychology28May1992207–233
DawsonM.E.Can classical conditioning occur without contingency learning? A review and evaluation of the evidencePsychophysiology10January197382–86
19.
De HouwerJ.ThomasS.BaeyensF.Associative learning likes and dislikes: A review of 25 years of research on human evaluative conditioningPsychological Bulletin1272001853–869
20.
EdellJ.A.BurkeM.C.The moderating effect of attitude toward an ad on ad effectiveness under different processing conditionsKinnearT.C.Advances in Consumer Researchvol. 111984Association for Consumer ResearchProvo, UT644–649
21.
FeinbergR.Credit cards as spending facilitating stimuli: A conditioning interpretationJournal of Consumer Research1331986348–356
22.
FieldA.P.I like it, but I'm not sure why: Can evaluative conditioning occur without conscious awareness?Consciousness and Cognition9200013–36
23.
FieldA.P.DaveyG.C.L.Reevaluating evaluative conditioning: A nonassociative explanation of conditioning effects in the visual evaluative conditioning paradigmJournal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes251999211–224
24.
GarciaJ.KoellingR.A.Relation of cue to consequence in avoidance learningPsychonomic Science431966123–124
25.
GibsonB.Can evaluative conditioning change attitudes toward mature brands? New evidence from the implicit association testJournal of Consumer Research35June2008178–188
26.
GornG.J.The effects of music in advertising on choice behavior: A classical conditioning approachJournal of Marketing46Winter198294–101
27.
GreenwaldA.G.LeavittC.Audience involvement in advertising: Four levelsJournal of Consumer Research11June1984581–592
28.
GreenwaldA.G.McGheeD.E.SchwartzJ.L.K.Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association testJournal of Personality and Social Psychology74June19981464–1480
29.
GreshamL.G.ShimpT.A.Attitude toward the advertisement and brand attitudes: A classical conditioning perspectiveJournal of Advertising141198510–1749
30.
GroenlandE.A.G.SchoormansJ.P.L.Comparing mood-induction and affective conditioning as mechanisms influencing product evaluation and product choicePsychology & Marketing111994183–197
31.
GrossmanR.P.TillB.D.The persistence of classically conditioned brand attitudesJournal of Advertising271199823–31
32.
HammerlM.I like it, but only when I'm not sure why: Evaluative conditioning and the awareness issueConsciousness and Cognition9200037–40
33.
HammerlM.GrabitzH.J.Human evaluative conditioning without experiencing a valued eventLearning and Motivation271996278–293
34.
HuntJ.M.FlorsheimR.A.ChatterjeeA.KernanJ.B.Credit cards as spending-facilitating stimuli: A test and extension of Feinberg's conditioning hypothesisPsychological Reports671990323–330
35.
JaniszewskiC.WarlopL.The influence of classical conditioning procedures on subsequent attention to the conditioned brandJournal of Consumer Research20September1993171–189
36.
KaminL.J.Predictability, surprise, attention and conditioningCampbellB.A.ChurchR.M.Punishment and Aversive Behavior1969Appleton-Century-CroftsNew York, NY279–296
37.
KaminL.J.BrimerC.J.The effects of intensity of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli on a conditioned emotional responseCanadian Journal of Psychology1721963194–200
38.
KassarjianH.H.Consumer research: Some recollections and a commentaryLutzR.J.Advances in Consumer Researchvol. 131986Association for Consumer ResearchProvo, UT6–8
39.
KellarisJ.J.CoxA.D.The effects of background music in advertising: A reassessmentJournal of Consumer Research16June1989113–118
40.
KimJ.AllenC.T.KardesF.R.An investigation of the mediational mechanisms underlying attitudinal conditioningJournal of Marketing Research33August1996318–328
41.
KimJ.LimJ.S.BhargavaM.The role of affect in attitude formation: A classical conditioning approachJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science2621998142–152
42.
LieC.HuntM.PetersH.L.VeliuB.HarperD.The ‘negative’ credit card effect: Credit cards as spending-limiting stimuli in New ZealandPsychological Record602010399–412
43.
LovibondP.F.ShanksD.R.The role of awareness in Pavlovian conditioning: Empirical evidence and theoretical implicationsJournal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes2820023–26
MacKenzieS.B.LutzR.J.BelchG.E.The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: A test of competing explanationsJournal of Marketing Research23May1986130–143
46.
MacklinM.C.Classical conditioning effects in product/character pairings presented to childrenLutzR.J.Advances in Consumer Researchvol. 131986Association for Consumer ResearchProvo, UT198–203
MartindaleC.Cognitive Psychology: A Neural-Network Approach1991Brooks/ColePacific Grove, CA
49.
McCallM.BelmontH.J.Credit card insignia and restaurant tipping: Evidence for an associative linkJournal of Applied Psychology811996609–613
50.
McCallM.TrombettaJ.GipeA.Credit cues and impression management: A preliminary attempt to explain the credit card effectPsychological Reports952004331–337
51.
McSweeneyF.K.BierleyC.Recent developments in classical conditioningJournal of Consumer Research11September1984619–631
52.
MisF.W.MooreJ.W.Effect of preacquisition UCS stimulus exposure on classical conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane responseLearning and Motivation411973108–114
53.
MongerJ.E.FeinbergR.A.Mode of payment and formation of reference pricesPricing Strategy and Practice51997142–147
54.
OlsonM.A.FazioR.H.Implicit attitude formation through classical conditioningPsychological Science1252001413–417
55.
PavlovI.P.Conditioned Reflexes1927Oxford University PressOxford, England
56.
PerruchetP.Expectancy for airpuff and conditioned eyeblinks in humansActa Psychologica58January198531–44
57.
PettyR.E.CacioppoJ.T.SchumannD.Central and peripheral routes to advertising effectiveness: The moderating role of involvementJournal of Consumer Research10September1983135–146
58.
PrelecD.SimesterD.Always leave home without it: A further investigation of the credit-card effect on willingness to payMarketing Letters1220015–12
59.
PrestonI.L.The association model of the advertising communication processJournal of Advertising11219823–15
60.
PriluckR.TillB.D.The role of contingency awareness, involvement, and need for cognition in attitude formationJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science3232004329–404
61.
RachmanS.Neo-conditioning and the classical theory of fear acquisitionClinical Psychology Review1121991155–173
62.
RaghubirP.SrivastavaJ.Monopoly money: The effect of payment coupling and form on spending behaviorJournal of Experimental Psychology: Applied142008213–225
63.
RazranG.Conditioning away social bias by the luncheon techniquePsychological Bulletin351938693
64.
RescorlaR.A.Pavlovian conditioning and its proper control proceduresPsychological Review741196771–80
65.
RescorlaR.A.Informational variables in Pavlovian conditioningThe Psychology of Learning and Motivation619721–46
66.
RescorlaR.A.Effect of US habituation following conditioningJournal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology8211973137–143
67.
RescorlaR.A.Pavlovian conditioning: It's not what you think it isAmerican Psychologist43March1988151–160
68.
RescorlaR.A.WagnerA.R.A theory of Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of reinforcement and nonreinforcementBlackA.H.ProkasyW.F.Classical Conditioning II1972Appleton-Century-CroftsNew York64–99
69.
RozinP.WrzesniewskiA.ByrnesD.The elusiveness of evaluative conditioningLearning and Motivation291998397–415
70.
SawyerA.G.Demand artifacts in laboratory experiments in consumer researchJournal of Consumer Research1March197520–29
71.
SchemerC.MatthesJ.WirthW.TextorS.Does ‘passing the courvoisier’ always pay off? Positive and negative evaluative conditioning effects of brand placements in music videosPsychology & Marketing25102008923–943
72.
SchiffmanL.G.KanukL.L.Consumer Behavior10th ed.2010Prentice HallUpper Saddle River, NJ
73.
ShimpT.A.MoodyM.P.In search of a theoretical explanation for the credit card effectJournal of Business Research481200017–23
74.
ShimpT.A.StuartE.W.EngleR.W.A program of classical conditioning experiments testing variations in the conditioned stimulus and contextJournal of Consumer Research18June19911–12
75.
ShurtleffD.AyresJ.J.B.One-trial backward excitatory fear conditioning in rats: Acquisition, retention, extinction and spontaneous recoveryAnimal Learning and Behavior91198165–74
76.
SpetchM.L.WilkieD.M.PinelJ.P.Backward conditioning: A reevaluation of the empirical evidencePsychological Bulletin89January1981163–175
77.
StaatsA.W.StaatsC.K.Effect of number of trials on the language conditioning of meaningJournal of General Psychology61October1959211–223
78.
StahlC.UnkelbachC.CorneilleO.On the respective contributions of awareness of unconditioned stimulus valence and unconditioned stimulus identity in attitude formation through evaluative conditioningJournal of Personality and Social Psychology9732009404–420
79.
StuartE.W.ShimpT.A.EngleR.W.Classical conditioning of consumer attitudes: Four experiments in an advertising contextJournal of Consumer Research14December1987334–349
80.
TerraceH.S.GibbonJ.FarrellL.BaldockM.D.Temporal factors influencing the acquisition and maintenance of an autoshaped keypeckAnimal Learning and Behavior31197553–62
81.
TillB.D.Using celebrity endorsers effectively: Lessons from associative learningJournal of Product and Brand Management751998400–409
82.
TomG.Classical conditioning of unattended stimuliPsychology & Marketing12199579–87
83.
WagnerA.R.SiegelS.ThomasE.EllisonG.D.Reinforcement history and the extinction of a conditioned salivary responseJournal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology5831964354–358
84.
WaltherE.Guilty by mere association: Evaluative conditioning and the spreading attitude effectJournal of Personality and Social Psychology822002919–934
85.
WaltherE.GrigoriadisS.Why sad people like shoes better: The influence of mood on the evaluative conditioning of consumer attitudesPsychology & Marketing21200475–773
86.
ZajoncR.R.Attitudinal effects of mere exposureJournal of Personality and Social Psychology Monograph Supplement9Part 2, June 19681–27
